New Friends, and Roommates
by BookwormKAH
Summary: After the Wizarding war, Ginny decides to leave home to "discover herself" in an unexpected place with an unexpected roommate/housemate. Drinny (Rated T just in case?) OOC, AU; yes it's a Drinny story, so if you don't like it, don't read it.
1. Prequel

A/N: this part of the story was added after certain parts. It was created to address some flaws in the story that were brought to my attention. So If some things vary, thats why. Please R&R, its awesome. Love you guys.

~Bookworm

Before the story takes place: At the Battle of Hogwarts.

There were spells flying past her face. Ginny was battling a short death eater, who's magic was mediocre to say the least. She was driving him back into a wall when she felt someone run into her, knocking her sideways. She glanced to see who it was, she was shocked to see Her best friends, Harry, and Hermione run by along with two of her brothers, Ron and George.

"Guys?!" She yelled, Hermione glanced back but kept running. Ginny furrowed her brow and in that second, a spell hit her. She was unable to move as the death eater came over to her, grinning.

"I gottcha. You's a bloodtraitor you are. And the Potty's girl you are. Ohhhh I got you, I did. The Dark Lord will be so happy." He said gleefully. She wanted to move, to get out of there, and hide until it was all over, she was scared. More scared than she had ever been in her life. He bent down to pick her up, but his body vanished from view as he was tackled to the ground. She saw a bright flash then another. With the second flash, the spell holding her still vanished. She slowly sat back up and looked first at the death eater, who was now stuck in place, and then at the person who was snapping the still man's wand in half. Draco Malfoy.

"what are you..." She trailed off. "Malfoy?"

He looked at her then ran off without speaking a word. She glanced at the stunned man by her feet then ran in the direction Malfoy had gone. What was that git up to now?

She saw him following a group heading out the doors of the castle. Then she noticed how everything was quiet. What was going on? Then she heard it "Harry Potter is dead! He died trying to run, to save himself!" She had finally made it out the doors, no longer thinking of malfoy, but thinking of Harry and the body she could see, held in the arms of their friend, Hagrid.

"NO!" She screamed, her throat burned as she felt tears leave her eyes at her scream. She heard other cries, but she could see nobody. She felt herself starting to fall, when arms caught her. After a moment, she was able to see who had caught her. Malfoy was looking at her. She looked around, her family wasn't even looking for her, they were all trying to push together to the front of the crowd. Not worrying about their daughter and sister.

As soon as she was able to stand properly, Malfoy let her go and backed away. What was with him. She saw him approach someone with a broken arm and tend to them. He was helping them? She just now caught the words of Voldemort.

"Those who wish may join me, and be spared." after a moment everyone heard the word "Draco" Said by a woman. She looked over and saw him slowly make his way over to the woman. It was his mother. Ginny noticed the look on his face, guilt. She shook it off as chaos erupted. In the moments that follwed, Neville killed a snake and Harry jumped up, alive.

Ginny fought. Again. For her life, for her friend's lives and for the wizarding world. And they won. Voldemort was dead. So were many other death eaters, Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix, and so many others it was difficult to believe. She had fought harder than ever, Fred was dead though. Of all her siblings, Fred was the one to die. Families were grouped together, mourning. She looked around, there were so many who had given their lives for this. She looked back to the body of her joker brother and she could swear she had seen Malfoy again, she snapped her head up and her suspicions were right, he was sitting at a table with his mother, looking out at those who had given everything. He looked tired, and had white lines down his dirty face that could have been from tears. But, she thought as she shook her head, she couldn't think about that right now.

Her eyes found their way to her brother and his friends. The Golden Trio. They were hugging eachother. She was never going to be a part of that... there had never in her life been a moment where she was surrounded by people she loved, but felt utterly alone. Until now.

A/N2: DUN DUN DUN! How is it? Please let me know. Thnx guys!


	2. Chapter 1

This story takes place after the Battle of Hogwarts and the golden trio decides to try to build a life for themselves. Here is the story from the point of view of Ginny or Draco.

Ginny POV:

He had been there. at the battle, she saw him there was no doubt about it he had been there and had helped them even though they all thought that he was a no good Malfoy. Why had he helped them all? but Ginny's thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on her door.

"Gin? it's me... Harry. May I come in and talk to you please?" Harry asked through her door. she looked over at the door, pondering what to say.

"yea, come on in." she was curious as to what Harry had to say. he came in looked around then his eyes landed on her. he gestured to the door, silently asking to close it. Ginny nodded and waved her hand and he turned and closed it softly. he sat in Ginny's chair, just a few feet away from Ginny herself. he looked at her for a few seconds then he started to speak.

"Gin, I miss you. the battle... it made me realize that I'm not sure what I would do without you. you're my best friend and I cant lose you. please give me another chance?" he asked her. just as she thought. he came back, and just expected her to take him back. but she wasn't going to. Ginny knew that with Harry it was always going to be her as an afterthought. she was always going to come second. well she wasn't going to have that in her life anymore. she was selfish. she was used to being the last one, she wanted to be first for someone.

"Harry, I can not give you another chance. You are an amazing man, but you are just not the man for me. I need someone who is always going to be there for me." She smiled at him sadly, "you are always going to be busy saving the world Harry. I am sorry, but that, I just cant handle. I need someone who I know is always going to be by my side and safe. someone I cant always worry about. that's not you." she stopped talking and looked down at her lap.

"I understand. that... is not what I was expecting, but I'm glad that you told me the truth. Well, I suppose that I'll go now. Bye Gin. I'll see you later." he stood up slowly and lightly brushed the front of his pants off, as if they had dirt or dust on them. He turned as if to say something to her, but instead just smiled one last sad smile and walked out of her room.

Ginny listened as the door clicked quietly into place and heard Harry's footsteps as he walked down the stairs. She sighed and looked at her wall, waiting for the voices of her brother and Harry to begin again. Just as she heard him step on the next landing below her room, she heard the muffled voice of her brother, Ron, and a reply made by Harry. The voices of the two started to fade a bit more as they continued to walk down the stairs, further from where Ginny herself was. She needed to figure out what was going on with Draco. what happened at the battle? Ginny knew that he had been given amnesty by the Ministry and that his parents had been imprisoned, but other than that... she knew nothing of the new Draco Malfoy. But she intended to find out. and she would begin by writing a letter to him. She grabbed a piece of parchment, a quill and an ink bottle.

Dear Draco,

Hello Draco. This is Ginny Weasley. I saw you at the battle. Fighting for our side. I was curious and I would like to know if you would be fine with me coming and staying with you at your manor for a bit? I would like to get to know you a little better than what our family feud says. I also just need to get away from all of... this chaos that is what my life has become. I'm sure that you know what I am talking about. Also, you are alone in that manor and I figure that you would like some company.

Love,

Ginny Weasley

She read over the letter quickly before sealing it and sending it off with the owl that she had saved from the owlery at Hogwarts. she stood at her window, watching as the bird flew away into the distance of the black sky. She sighed once more and turned to leave her room, scanning for anything. Anything to prolong going to face telling her parents where she planned on going. Finding nothing, she turned and opened the door, took a deep breath and started to make her way slowly down the stairs.

Once she entered the living room she noticed that everybody was already there without her. she stood in the doorway for a second then walked further into the room. She cleared her throat and in a few seconds all of the eyes in the room were on her. She ignored everybody but her parents.

"Mum? Dad? may I please speak with you in the kitchen? I need to talk with you about something." she noticed them exchange a glance before they stood. Yet they still followed her into the kitchen and she cast a silencing charm on the door as they sat down at the kitchen table. she turned to them and saw that they were watching her patiently. then her mother began to speak.

"Ginny, we think that we know what this is about. we realize that you just turned down Harry. And if you would just think of what being with him would do for you then maybe-"

"No. Mum, I am not going to get back together with Harry. you were wrong about what I needed to talk to you about. I need to figure some stuff out. Everything has changed and I just need to go someplace new and distract myself. I know were I'm going, I just figured that I would let you know. I'm planning on going to Draco Malfoy's manor. I have sent him a letter asking permission. now I'm just waiting for a reply." she knew that her parents were going to be upset with this. but she had made up her mind already.

"Absolutely not. I will not allow my daughter to go and stay with people that have the likes of him. It is completely out of the question." this was her father. She knew that he loved her, but sometimes she just needed some space.

"Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore and I wasn't asking for your permission to go. I saw him at the battle and he was fighting for our side, not for the death eaters. and you need to accept that as a fact. I'm going to go pack my bags just in case he says yes. even if he doesn't, I'm still going to leave. I need space from everything. I'm sorry." Ginny patted the table lightly with her left hand as she turned to leave. She slowly walked out of the door after she removed the silencing charm. she quickly walked through the living room and ran up the stairs before she could begin to hear the voices that belonged to her family in the room below.


	3. Chapter 2

Draco POV:

The owl arrived just as he woke up and rose to walk down to the kitchen. But he didn't know that until he actually reached the dining room table and was setting his plate of toast and bacon down. He realized that a letter addressed to him was leaning on a jug of pumpkin juice. He snatched it up and examined the handwriting. He didn't recognize it as anyone he knew. It must be safe then, not a follower coming to exact their revenge on him for switching sides right before the battle. His muscles relaxed and he comprehended that the writing looked distinctly like it was written by a girl. he set everything down on the table and sat in the chair closest to himself. He stared at the letter as he slowly chewed the food that he had made. He had begun to cook for himself and he had found that he rather enjoyed bacon and toast.

Knowing that the letter was probably important urged him to call a house elf to him. the elf appeared immediately and Draco gestured not unkindly at the plate and the elf bounced over and swept them away from the table. Draco slid his pale finger under the red seal that held the roll of paper together and broke it from one side. Cheap wax, he didn't know anybody who would use cheap wax on the letters they wrote. Everybody he knew had money and they loved to flaunt it, even to him who had more money than they ever would. He knew how to handle his finances. He unrolled the letter and quickly understood the wax.

"Ginny Weasley... Huh. Clank!" he waited for the elf named Clank, a small cute house elf to appear. With a pop she did and bowed immediately. "Please ready a room for a guest. Female, seventeen, and lovely. Make it as beautiful and wonderful as you can. A woman as beautiful and radiant as Ginny Weasley deserves it." He stood up and walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the dining room as he heard the small squeak of the elf and the pop that ensued as it disappeared to do as he requested.

Draco grabbed a bit of parchment and a Ready Quill. then he began to write a reply to Ginny Weasley. He knew that he should say that she can't come, that the rivalry between them will never end. But Draco was on the good side now. He believed that if someone was willing to give him a chance that he should do the same thing. Especially since it was Ginny Weasley, she was beautiful and very clever. He had always appreciated the fact that even though she was a Weasley, she had talents and she was highly attractive. He had never really liked her, but he didn't hate her either. So she had to come and stay.

Dear Ginny,

I would love to have you come and stay. You may come anytime in the next couple days when it suits you. The sooner, the better. I look forward to your arrival. I have taken the liberty of having a bedroom prepared for when you arrive. I must say that I am most pleased that you are going to give me a chance to prove that I have changed. Thank you for setting aside our family's disagreements and deciding that you trust me enough to reside under the same roof as me. I will see you when you arrive.

Draco Malfoy

He sent the letter off with his owl and he walked up to where the elves were preparing her room. They had gone down to the cellar and grabbed the best furniture they could find. They had changed the colors on everything to gold and light blue, a good combination. Draco surveyed the room as they were finishing and gave a nod of approval. It simply looked amazing. He turned and walked back to his room, grabbed some money and told the elves that he was going to go to Diagon Alley. The elves bid him goodbye and he walked out of the door.

Draco had thought of something while replying to Ginny. He was going to buy her something nice. He was thinking a dress. He made it to Diagon Alley fairly quickly and made his way to the dress shop that his mother used to go to buy her dresses. He walked inside and realized that the shop had more than just dresses, they also had jewelry and shoes and everything for any girl. He went straight to the dresses and started to paw through them, trying to find a dress that would match her hair and eyes. Red hair, brown eyes. He found a short dress that was a deep russet color and decided that it would do just nicely. he walked up to the counter which doubled as a jewelry counter and as he waited for the witch at the register to figure the dress out he looked at the necklaces. He noticed one and he levitated it out of the glass case and into his hand.

"Cancel the dress. I just want this." he said to the young witch who gave a sigh of relief. she tossed the dress aside and gently took the necklace.

"That will be two hundred and fifty Galleons sir." She said politely. Draco handed her the coins and she wrapped the necklace for him and told him to have a nice day.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: This is put into both points of view because one alone was kinda short. R&R. Thank you :D

Ginny POV:

Ginny had just finished packing late the next morning when she got the reply from Draco. She skipped down the stairs when her mother yelled that breakfast was on the table. She beat her brother and Harry down to the table, but Hermione had been helping Mrs. Weasley with the breakfast, so she was already there. Ginny sat down and told Hermione the news about her going to Draco's manor.

"I still don't trust him Ginny." Hermione said to Ginny calmly.

"Who don't you trust? I mean there are plenty of people that you don't trust, but who are we talking about at this very moment?" Ron said as he walked into the kitchen and sat down. Hermione looked at Ginny and Ginny explained the situation to the boys. In return she received blank stares and agape mouths from the boys.

"Harry it is not your fault. Don't even deny that's what you are thinking. It's written all over your face. And Ron, I'm sorry. I love you and everything, but I just cant stay here and pretend that I'm alright. That nothing is wrong. I'm leaving as soon as I say bye to Dad." She stood up and paused, she then slowly walked around the table. When she reached Hermione, Hermione stood up and gave her a tight hug. As this happened, everybody who had been sitting at the table stood up as well and when Ginny passed each person they gave her a hug. She reached her mother last and when they hugged her mother gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You better write young lady." Her mother said to her.

"Mum, I won't write. I need space. But I promise that I will be okay." Ginny hugged her mother gently one last time and walked out of the room. She heard everybody sit down and the sound of silverware hitting dishes reached her ears in no time at all. Ginny knew where her father would be, she walked to the back of the house, to the shed and found him standing by the door.

"I always knew that you were going to be different from all the other kids Gin. I know that you will be okay, you always have been. I also know that you see people when they change while the rest of us don't. I'll see you soon Ginny." Her father said while still facing the door, he hadn't seen her, but he had heard her walk up to him.

"Dad, I love you. I will see you soon." She turned him around and gave him a hug and a soft kiss on his cheek. She walked away and as she did so she heard the door to the shed open and close. She paused, turned and saw what she had expected. Her father had gone inside, disappearing into his own world. Leaving all others to just be by himself. He of all people, Ginny realized, knew what she was feeling. The chaos and all of the unfamiliarity of everything. He knew what it was like to want to change, to be in a different place. They were so alike in that way.

Draco POV:

He just couldn't believe that she was actually coming _here_ , to his house. Thinking about it made him nervous, everything was wrong. A speck of dust here, an unmade bed there. Nothing was right and he worried that if she saw it that she would think that he didn't have his life together, that maybe he hadn't changed at all... Maybe he just worried too much. He took the necklace he had bought her and, inside the package, set it on her pillow in her bedroom with a note.

A little "Welcome To The Manor" gift, hope you like it.

Draco

Now he just had to wait for her to get here. He suspected that she would be arriving shortly, her letter had seemed as though she would get here as soon as possible. The elves in the house were excited that someone other than Draco would be in the house, especially since it was going to be a girl. Draco never invited any girls to the house that weren't family. He had never even had a girlfriend. Not that Ginny was his girlfriend or anything. Everybody thought that he and Pansy had been an item during their last years at Hogwarts, but she had just been highly flirtatious. They had never been a thing.

Draco figured that she would probably want some food after she arrived, so he began to fix up something quick. Ham and cheese bagel sandwiches. Yes, they were all originally muggle foods to begin with, but Wizards sometimes borrowed things from them. He was just finishing up the sandwiches when he heard a noise coming from the dining room. He stood, waiting and heard a cough. He recognized that as a girl cough, placed the plates with sandwiches on the counter opposite him and walked into the dining room. There she was, red flaming hair and all. He watched her straighten up and gaze around the room with an open mouth. Her eyes landed on Draco and she snapped her mouth shut. For a second she had those same hard eyes that she always looked at him with, but then her expression changed. Her face lit up, her mouth widened to reveal a beautiful smile and she walked over to him and gave him a quick, soft hug.

A/N 2: Please Read and Review! All Criticism is welcome and I will try my hardest to answer everyone. Thanks for continuing to read. Next update soon!


	5. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you so much for the review! I hope to get a lot more. Anyway, I completely revised what I had written before for this chapter. Thank you again for reading and please review! I was working on this for a while this morning so i could get it up for those that are still reading. :D Thank you again! (Also it is a bot shorter, only 856, but Im trying!)

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. or any characters. JKR OWNS THEM ALLLLLLL

~Bookworm

Ginny POV:

The manor was huge, there was no denying that. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting. Dark objects to be littering the rooms? No, she was inclined to think that Draco had changed, but she didn't think that he, of all people would keep a clean house from what she saw around her. After she had hugged him she had backed away a little. Draco probably wasn't used to very many people touching him, but Ginny had grown up in a huge family and Hugged everyone, and by the look on his face at the moment she was right. Draco looked at her for a moment with an odd look on his face. He shook his head slightly then gestured to her.

"Come on. Your room is upstairs. Then we can sit down to eat, unless you would rather eat first?" He said all of this while still staring at her. She was beginning to feel a little uneasy at him being so quick to the point. She knew that he was used to being perfectly straight with people so she decided to shrug it off and act her cheery self.

"Well, if you already made food then we should eat first. But, if you haven't then we can go to the room." She smiled at him and shrugged. "Its up to you."

"To the kitchen it is." He turned away but as he did Ginny could swear that she saw him smile just a little bit. She followed him into the room that he had come from when he heard her and she was confronted with a kitchen twice the size of the kitchen that The Burrow had. She decided to ignore the fact that she was in the largest kitchen she had ever seen next to the one at Hogwarts and actually talk to Draco.

"Mum would go crazy in a kitchen this big." She said to him as he handed her a sandwich, she took no notice to the fact his hand didnt touch hers.

"The house elves adore it." He said, in a drawl she recognized from their school days.

"My mother is not a house elf." She snapped at him. His brows crumpled together, trying to figure out what had just happened. Then his eyes widened some.

"Im sorry, thats not what I meant to say. I was just.." At Ginny's glare he quieted. It was then silent, and awkward. Ginny felt bad for snapping at him, so she gave it another shot at talking.

"So what made you say yes to me coming and staying here at the manor Draco?" Ginny asked him while eating the sandwich. She was watching him and she noticed that he had cut his hair since she had last seen him. It was still about three inches long, but it no longer hung in is face like it did before. He actually looked pretty decent.

"I could'nt tell you." He said, obviously mad.

"Oh grow up. Stop mopping. So we got in a tiff. Time to move on." Ginny said plainly. After another minute or so, he spoke.

"Let me show you your room." He said and she sighed as he stood up and started to walk out of the room.

"I would like to be your friend Draco Malfoy. And I really hope that you would like to be my friend also." She said this as they made their way up a set of stairs.

"Well Ginny Weasley, if you would like to be friends, then shouldn't we stop getting mad at eachother as though we were still in school?" He asked her as he turned around. Ginny noticed that the corners of his mouth were just slightly turned upward.

"Yes, that might just do us some good... Draco." She said this with a smirk and she made a gesture suggesting that he continue up the stairs. Continue he did, and when she saw her room she couldn't believe her eyes. It was... beautiful, one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. There was no way that this room now belonged to her, and there is no way that Draco decorated this. She looked at Draco and, judging from the expression on his face while he was watching her reaction, he was pleased that she liked it, and she was right, he didn't decorate it..

"Draco... It's gorgeous. I really like it. Thank you for having this done for me, but its really unnecessary." She turned to him with a smile on her face. This was much more than what she had expected. She came to the manor to get away from everything, and she got a whole new room. This was better than she had ever imagined.


	6. Chapter 5

A/N! Thank you 4 that have followed my story thus far. I will be adding a prequel chapter and going back to revise some things in previous chapters but worry not! I will make a Note of it when I finish. Please R&R, that would be awesome. I will also take any and all ideas for this story into further consideration. This chapter is a little shorter, but ive been worried about getting my license and starting college and my job of course :) Love you all

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. or any characters. JKR OWNS THEM ALLLLLLL

~Bookworm

Draco POV:

Was she about to cry? Women were supposed to cry when they were happy, right? He had no idea how to handle a girl. Her brown eyes were dry though. Draco was miffed. He watched her as she walked over to the trunk at the bed and sat on it.

"Odd colors." She said.

"Um, the colors were the choice of the elves. If you don't like them, I can change them. Also if you would like anything else, or something removed, just let me know and I will take care of it." Draco said to Ginny.

"No, no. It's absolutely perfect. Everything is more perfect than I ever imagined. The colors remind me so much of Luna. Its great." She said to Draco. She gave him a small smile while his face darkened slightly at the mention of Luna Lovegood, she was an idiot and he didn't want something in his house to remind anyone of her.

Before Ginny could notice, he _Accioed_ the necklace to himself and stuck it in his pocket. It wasn't right. HE didn't know what he was thinking earier. He was just excited to have someone, anyone in the house.

"Well, I will leave you to settle in... Dinner is at 5:30." He looked up at her to find that she was looking at him with... concern.

"You're just going to leave? Well, don't you want to get acquainted with the girl that will be living in your house for a while?" She looked at him and he realized that she had beautiful eyes. He started to say no, but them he realized that she really looked like she wanted to get to know him. He tilted his head slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"i suppose that might be a good idea..." He trailed off and walked a little further into the room and looked at her. She looked around the room and gestured to the bed.

"Come here and sit." She smiled at him as he walked over slowly. "So, tell me some stuff about yourself... like what is your favorite color, if you had a different hair color, what would it be? Stuff like that." She leaned back on her hands and smiled at him. He thought for a second and looked at her.

"Okay i'll go first. My favorite color is light blue. Like ice. If my hair could be another color... I would want it to be black I guess. I don't really want to change my hair color. I think that Red suits me. I got fire in my blood." Ginny said with a laugh. She then looked at him, but he looked like his lips were sealed. "Hey I know that they are stupid questions, but I'm tryin, okay?" she was getting mad and he face was turning red.

"My favorite color is dark green. If I could change my hair color I would make my hair light brown." He said after another minute. "Are you happy?" She let out a laugh and stood up.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy. Yes I am." She said in response to him being grumpy. "So now what?"

"Well... I actually was invited to a party for work... But I wasn't going to go since you came today." He looked at her and noticed that her face fell slightly.

"Oh well I'll stay here. It's really not a problem." She looked up at him and smiled. "I have letters to write anyway."

A/N2: Prequel now posted!

~Bookworm


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: OMG I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED CHAPTERS WRONG! SO GO BACK! TO CHAPTER 4! ITS NEW ( I THINK) Thank you everyone who has read this story so far. This chapter is more of a filler than anything else, Ive been super distracted. SO its not very long, but I will try to make the next chapter longer for you guys :) again, thank you. Please R&R, I'm shooting for 5 new reviews about the story so far. (so a total of 8) Love you all!

~Bookworm

Ginny POV:

She was a little sad. She had moved here to get to know him better. And he was going to leave to go to a fancy party.

"Come with me. The people at work are always bothering me to bring a plus one. Why don't you come? These things are typically dull though..." He looked at her and a smile formed, then fell.

"I can't Draco, It would be great, but I dont have anything to wear. I'm sorry." She looked around the room until she heard Draco say something that surprised her just a second later.

"Come on. We can use the dresses that my mother used to have. We can just alter them with magic." He started to walk away and Ginny walked quickly to catch up with him. She walked in silence next to him as they walked up another flight of stairs and down a hallway. He walked to a door and opened it into a dark bedroom, walked over to another door, and opened that one as well. He turned on a light and as it turned on it revealed a huge closet.

"Wow... this is... wow." Ginny was amazed. Wow didn't even begin to describe what this room was like to Ginny. She had never seen so many clothes, or a closet that was this big, She didn't even have a closet at the Burrow. She looked over at Draco, her mouth open wide and she saw that he was looking at her with borderline laughing eyes. She closed her mouth and smiled at him.

"Well, I also need to find some dress robes to wear... So you look for a dress you like and I will find some dress robes." She watched him turn to half of the closet and she turned to the other half. She looked all down the rows of dresses and she didn't really see any that caught her fancy. She was almost to the end when she saw a dress bag. She unzipped it and found a knee length green, black, and white dress. She loved it, She would never have thought of wearing something like this though. She looked back at Draco, who was examining a set of dress robes and she pulled the dress off of the pole. Just as she was bout to zip it up, she found her nerve and took it out.

"Draco? What about this one?" She held it up and. She looked around the dress to sneak a peak at the look on his face and she giggled. His expression was one of complete shock. His mouth was open and his eyebrows were contracted and raised.

"My _mother_ had that?" His voice was tight, unbelieving of the fact his mother had, indeed, owned this piece of clothing. He turned and grabbed a pair of dress robes and turned to leave the closet. "Try it on." He walked out and closed the door behind him.

Ginny looked around, then quickly undressed and put the dress on. She walked over to the mirror on one of the doors and looked at herself, she thought that she looked alright. She just needed to tighten it, it wouldnt even have fit his mother. She used a handy spell to tighten it and then it looked much better. She took a deep breath and set her hand on the doorknob. She opened the door slowly.

"Are you decent?" She said through the small crack in the door.

"Yes" She heard Draco say, and she stuck her head out. She saw Draco standing by another mirror and he was fixing the collar of the dress robes he had on.

"Those look good on you Draco." Ginny said. He turned around and looked at her.

"Thank you Ginny. Come out here so I can see how that dress looks on you." Ginny stepped out, cheeks burning and smoothed the skirt of the dress down slightly. She looked up at him and saw what she took as a look of approval. She smiled at him and he looked into her eyes and smiled back, not a smirk, but a real smile. His teeth were perfect and she felt her heart speed up


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: OMG I am so sorry for not updating in so long... I got married and now am in the process of moving and it hasnt been easy... if your still reading, thank you so much. Discalimer: Not mine.. characters and places belong to the queen Rowling herself.

Draco POV:

His breath caught in the back of his throat. She looked... stunning. He had never seen her look so beautiful. He took a deep breath and smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"That looks good. Did you already alter it?" He said steadily, Hiding what he was thinking. "Yea, i did. Thanks Draco, for letting me borrow it." She said to him.

"Well i don't think that you need to do anything else, right?" He asked after a minute.

"Well, i need to do my makeup..." She trails off. "Girls do that."

"You look amazing, you dont need to put on makeup." Draco said, his cheeks turning a light pink. she really did look amazing, stunning really.

"Oh... well in that case we should go so we arent late." Ginny said with a smile at him. He gave her a small smile back and held out his arm.

"Shall we?" He said, still smiling slightly. She grabbed his arm hesitant to touch him, and he disapparated. After they got over the discomfort, they looked up at the building they were standing in front of, it was nice, stained windows and steel doors. He looked over at Ginny to see her reaction. she looked bewildered.

"The company is in this building?" She asked. He nodded, proud. "Oh... It's a bit ostentatious, Isn't it?" She said soft;y, His face falls as he realizes she is right, for a building that is supposed to just handle finances, it was a bit much. Nothing compared to Gringotts, but it was supposed to be an inconspicuous place for people to handle their affairs. "It's very nice though, I like it." Ginny states, interrupting his thought process.

"You do? are you sure?" Draco says, not sure why he is asking for her opinion. She nods, still looking at the building as they walk through the entrance. Inside it is warm, a perfect contrast for the chill that had been outside. He pulls her along, eager to show people that he has actually brought someone with him this time around.

A/N2: Also I know this isnt that long of a chapter, but better short than nothing?


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: OMG GUYS i'm so excited! i'm moving to go live with my husband in just a couple weeks! I havent seen him in 2 months! also, The Queen JKR herself owns all characters, not me.

Ginny POV:

She had lost count of all the people she had been introduced to. Even as they said their names to her, she would forget it. She didn't know anyone here. Yes, she recognized a select few people that she had met in Hogwarts. Draco had supplied a surprising amount of jobs to fresh out of school adults. She greeted some of them, though many seemed to give her strange looks that she didn't like.

After a few hours of talking mingling and butterbeer, Ginny walks up to Draco and smiles at him.

"Hey" He says, he doesn't quite smile at her, but he still looks happy all the same. She didn't want to ruin his good time... but her feet were killing her and she felt so.. out of place.

"Draco... May I speak to you just for one moment?" She asks him, flashing the men he was talking to an apologetic smile. A few nod their heads, while others just stare. Draco nods and walks a few feet away so they can talk.

"Do you like it? Are you having fun?" He asks her, no longer smiling, yet she could see in his eyes the joy he felt. She smiles and nods.

"I'm having loads... the food is amazing." She gives him a big smile, pushing it. "Draco, I think I'm going to go though, I'm very tired. I would like to stay, but I feel dead on my feet." She looks at him, actually disappointed that shes going to leave.

"Oh we can go then, honestly we stayed longer than I planned." He takes her arm and dissaparates without another word.

"You arse!" Ginny gasps as they appear back in the manor. "You couldn't give a bit of warning before you suck me into nowhere without breath?!" She looks at him, visibly upset.

"Oh get over it, we didn't splinch, did we?" He says as she glares at him.

"Malfoy why don't you get off your high horse? You should have given me a bit of warning, and next time if you don't, I will kick your arse on the ground when we get where we're going. Clear?" She says, seething at him, why didn't he get it? Obviously she was upset and he gives her shit for it? What was that?

"Fine. Warning, I got it Weasley." He says and proceeds to walk away. After a bit, Ginny went to find him and apologize for the attitude she had given him. When she found him, he was in his room, asleep. She looked at him for a minute, then backed out and closed the door. She has an idea as she walks to her room and dresses into pajamas with a smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 9

A\N: Okay so I know, I know, I haven't updated in forever but honestly its been a crazy year for me. I really am sorry and I hope you all read this new chapter. Also, JKR owns all material, not me.

Chapter 9!

Ginny POV:

She had felt bad the night before, so she woke up early to make Draco and herself a breakfast specialty of her mothers'. She made her way downstairs, still in her pajamas, and began pulling out ingredients. She did her best to remember everything for the recipe, and about an hour later, everything was ready. She paused and put on a tea kettle for breakfast.

"Clank?" She said softly, unsure if the elves would respond to her or not. The sweet elf popped up right next to her and bobbed into a bow.

"Yes miss?" The elf asked in her squeaky voice.

"Can you please go wake you're master? And let him know that I prepared breakfast for us?" Clank bobbed her head as she disappeared. Ginny continued to find plates and tableware for the meal, she looked around to find cups, once she had, she turned back to the table to find Draco turning the corner into the kitchen.

"Good morning Draco," she said cheerfully. "I made us breakfast, I hope you like it."

Draco POV:

He rounded the corner mid yawn, and caught sight of Ginny. She was wearing lounge shorts and a tight tank top, Draco stopped next to the table, his eyes still on Ginny as she said good morning.

"I made something my mum loves to make, It's an American dish called 'biscuits and gravy' its made with rolls and sausage gravy. I doubt you've ever had it, but I love it." She said as she placed a full platter on the table before him. He looked at it, it was a lot of food, but it looked alright. He took a sip of his tea then grabbed his fork and knife and took a large bite.

He ate every single bite on the plate, and he was very sure he would never be satisfied with just bacon ever again. He finished the food with a satisfied sigh and sat back in his chair with his tea.

"Thank you, that was amazing. You're mum must be an amazing cook." He gave her a smile and she returned a smile back. He cleared his throat and tore his eyes away from her. "I am sorry for not warning you last night. Next time I will."

"It's okay." She said to him as a different house elf cleared away the dishes.

Ginny POV:

Her plan had worked, she was pleased they were on good terms again. She grabbed her tea and started to head to the stairs.

"Oh, is it alright that I take this to my room?" She asked, turning around to face Draco, and jumping slightly when she found him very close behind her. He was probably also heading to get changed for the day. He took a small step back when he realized he had startled her and then he nodded.

"Yes, that's fine. Probably wouldn't be the first time." He said, gesturing another elf over to clean up the small spill as another came to replenish Ginny's tea.

"Oh, thank you." Ginny said to the elf. "And thank you," She said to Draco as well. She turned and began to climb the steps up to her room. Once inside, she set the tea down on the bedside table and went to the dresser her clothes had been placed inside. She grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, unsure what the plan for the day was. she finished the tea and headed back downstairs. She found Draco at the door, adjusting robes. "Oh, are we leaving?" She asked. He stopped and turned to her, an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm so sorry, but I only have weekends off Ginny. I get home around 5 in the evening. But The elves can show you whatever you may need, Library, the field for flying, anything, just ask Clank and she will help you, though I need to leave." He said as he stared toward the door.

"Ah, right... I will see you tonight then." She said as he walked out and closed the door behind him."

A/N: Okay so I really tried to make this longer than the past few. Please Review and again, any and all ideas will be appreciated if you'd like to tell me any ideas to put into the story. Thank you so much everyone!


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey so, as promised, here is chapter 10. I don't quite know how far this story will go, but thank you for sticking with me on this journey. as always, criticism and of course praise/ comments. JKR owns HP, obvs.

Ginny POV:

She spent all day walking through the house, looking at paintings and the library, thinking about how much Hermione would love this house until she remembered that this was the house Hermione would never go near again. She frowned a bit while running her fingers over the rough spines of the texts. She then left the library, her stomach growling, and made her way downstairs to grab a snack. She quickly grabbed a granola bar and asked Clank to lead her to the field. She followed the small elf outside, eager to see what the Malfoys had in store. The field was pristine, grass not too tall and there was a shed in the corner. She made her way over and opened the door.

She smiled at what she saw, beautiful brooms, their tails finely trimmed and their wood polished to the max. She stepped inside and a broom in the back of the shed caught her eye, it looked older and unused, in need of some love. She lifted it from its hold on the wall and carried it outside. She hadn't flown in a long time, but Quidditch was in her blood, flying came naturally. She kicked off the ground and spent a long time in the air, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face and hair, the chill the higher she climbed. Once the sun started to fall, she decided it was about time to head inside, her hands were freezing and she really wanted a cup of tea. She put the broom back, and looked at the rest while she was there.

She always knew that the Malfoys had money, and a lot of it, but all these brooms together would have cost a fortune. And she somehow doubted that his parents flew. She was in disbelief that all of these brooms were Draco's. She made her way back into the house and made herself a pot of tea. She glanced down at the golden watch she had gotten as an early present from her parents and knew that Draco should be home any minute.

Draco POV:

He apparated back to the manor and gazed up at the gray mansion, he didn't know if he really wanted to stay here for the rest of his life, generations of Malfoys had lived here, and he knew he didn't want to lose it, even though he had no good memories there he knew that maybe he could make something that resembled a home for himself out of this place.

He made his way up the path to the front door, he was running late back home and he felt bad he had left Ginny home alone all day, and even worse that he was home later than he said he would be. He opened the door and put his cloak away in the closet. He then made his way to the kitchen, the elves had made a habit of having tea ready whenever he came home from work.

As he entered, a small smile was on his face, Ginny was sitting at the table, focused on a journal that she was writing in. She had a cup of tea next to her that was no longer steaming. He was silent so that he didn't bother her, but couldn't help it when he took a step forward and tripped over a lifted tile on the floor. He stumbled and she immediately slammed the journal shut and looked over at him.

"You know, if you weren't snooping, you'd probably be able to pay attention to where you were walking." She said as she scooped the book up and walked out of the kitchen up to her room. He sighed and thanked his elf as she handed him a piping cup of tea. He took it up to his room so that he could change into more comfortable clothes. He also took a quick shower and brushed his teeth, he had a set routine after he got off of work. He never liked to bring the stress of work back to the house.

he heard Ginny going back down the stairs as he was pulling on clean socks. He made his way down the stairs behind her and as he passed the library, he stopped and turned into the large room.

"So, not snooping, do you like it?" He asked, as he gestured around the room. Ginny looked back over at him and then back at the books with a odd look on her face.

"Well, I just took a glance earlier, But it was enough to notice, a lot of these books are family trees. I was thinking of reading something, but theres not much that looks... readable to anyone other than Hermione." She said as Draco walked over next to where she was, hands in his pockets.

"Yeah... I never read much of these, but a lot of families who are 'blood proud' have these kind of books. I did read... These over here though." He said as he walked over to a smaller bookshelf next to a couple stuffed chairs. Ginny followed him over and raised her eyebrows at the selection.

"Hmm... These.. could possibly take up some space in my day while you're gone." She said. "And about that, just one day here and.. I got really bored.. I was thinking, What if I got a job? I could pay you for the room and the food too? But the thing is, I don't really know where I could get one." He turned and looked at her as she was speaking, nodding slightly.

"Well, if you'd like I could help you find one, I could ask around and see if anyone is looking for someone." He said, already thinking about what he could help her with, he wasn't sure but he thought that maybe, just maybe, his business might have an opening, but he would have to check.

A/N: Really trying for you guys! Any ideas for what Ginny's job should be? I have an Idea but am open for more. Also, If yall handt figured it out, Draco started his own finances business, thought that would be suitable for our strapping young lad. R&R!THNX


	12. Chapter 11

A/N: Okay so I know, I asked what Ginny's job should be and I really didn't want to just wait until I got a review, so I'm going to just go with my idea, and any other ideas my be considered in the future. Also, I know ive been updating a lot but i do have a job and a husband, so Its not going to be every day that I'm able to update, but starting next week I think I'll just try to do a chapter every Friday. Deal? sweet. Obviously I'm not cool enough to own harry potter, that honor belongs to JKR, though I was called Queen today. high praise. high praise. OKAY-

Ginny POV:

They sat down for dinner the next night and Draco automatically brought up the job.

"Okay, so Ive asked around, I know you want one as soon as you can, but the only thing I could find opens up in a week, will that-" she cut him off swiftly.

"Yes, of course I want it." She said, smiling. He gave her a startled look.

"I haven't told you the pay, hours, anything. I haven't told you yet what the job actually is." He said, nodding to Clank as she brought him a bowl of soup with a side of bread.

"I don't really care Malfoy, I just need a job." She said, she had made up her mind, the first job to come her way, she would take. She didn't really care if the job was scooping dragon dung, she would take it... probably.

"Well, also on that note, I don't want you to pay for your room, you are my guest and I wont have it. If you wish to pay for your own food, that's your business, but the room is part of my house and I will turn down payment for it. I want you here, its not a bother." He said, stirring his soup, not even looking at her. She could feel her neck grow hot, she didn't like handouts and she wasn't anyone's charity. She gripped her spoon tight and glowered at him.

"I'm not you're charity case to the world to prove that you've grown up Malfoy, you need to show them that on your own." She said to him, and he stopped his spoon halfway to his mouth and put it back down. he looked up at her, the tips of his ears were red and she could see a hint of that schoolboy sneer he used to have.

"Is that why you think I agreed for you to come here? I agreed because I know, maybe more than anyone, what its like to want to get away. I don't think the world revolves around me, I'm not an idiotic child anymore. I _have_ grown up, and it doesn't matter if you agree or not. I think ill take this up to my room." He finished, looking at Clank, who was shrunk in the corner, trying to blend in. She nodded quickly and scurried over to grab his dish. "Good night _Ginny"_ He emphasized her name as he walked out of the room.

Damn. She placed her forehead in her palms as she heard the young man walk softly up the stairs. She had already screwed this up. He probably wouldn't want her in the house anymore and she had probably just ruined the chance for her to get any job. She sighed heavily and waited for Clank to come back downstairs, which she did quickly.

"Do you think he wants me to leave?" She asked Clank softly. The elf shook her head furiously.

"No miss, I don't thinks the master would want you to leaves. He speaks like he likes another person in the house. I think master is just a little sad." She said, taking a small bow so that she didn't offend Ginny.

"Hmm.. Thank you Clank, but I think I am done with dinner." The elf nodded and hurried over to gather the still full bowl of soup. Ginny stood up and walked back to her room slowly, trying to think about how in the world she could apologize for what had happened downstairs, trying to figure out if she even needed to apologize. She climbed into her bed and pulled her journal out from the bedside table and began to write, her brow furrowed.

Draco POV:

He was in bed when he called for Clank to come get his dirty dishes. She appeared immediately and took a deep bow before reaching for the dishes.

"Wait." She stopped, arms still outstretched. "Relax, I just want to ask, did Ginny finish her meal alright? Does she need anything." The elf looked at him, worried about how he would react to her answer. She slowly shook her head.

"No master, Miss Ginny did not finish the soup Gruwamp had made this night. I think that she is upsets and went to bed sir." She looked at him as he nodded his head.

"Okay.. Thank you." He turned away as the elf vanished and he got up out of bed and walked down the hall. He didn't understand why she had to be so stubborn, he was trying to help her, but he wasn't trying to make her a 'charity case'. That's what angered him most, she didn't believe he could feel something that was relatable. He came to a stop outside her door and rapped it twice with his knuckles. He heard the bed creak the slightest bit and then the door opened. Ginny's eyes were slightly red, but she composed herself to be calm and collected, so Draco knew better to ask if she had been crying. A woman like Ginny would never admit to that.

"I just... I really am trying to be friends Ginny. And friends don't make their friend pay for a room. Please, just accept that?" He asked her. He met her gaze word for word, so that she knew he meant what he said. She sighed and nodded.

"Fine.. So you aren't going to ask me to leave?" She asked, he returned the question with an incredulous look.

"What on earth would make you think I would ask you to leave?" He asked her, very serious. She returned his question with a shrug and she then opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in.

"So.. You never told me what the job was. Is it scooping dragon dung?" She was stuck on that. He took a deep breath to answer, then, realizing what she had said, just stared at her, mouth ajar.

"What would... Umm no. That's not the job." He then cleared his throat and looked at her seriously. "Its.. Security." He stated. Her eyes got wide and a smile cracked her lips.

Ginny POV:

"Do I get to hit people?" She asked, excitedly. She calmed herself down once she saw the look on Draco's face. "Erm... I mean what exactly would that entail?"

"Well the company you would be working for is going to be giving all of their clients a special badge to show whenever they would be entering the building. Same with employees, only a different badge for them. The owner of this business has been involved with some.. unsavory people in the past and has received many threats and such. So he is hiring a few security guards." He said.

"And this person is willing to just hire me? No test or anything?" She asked him, this all sounded too good to be true. She really doubted that there wouldn't be background checks, physical tests and such like that.

"Well... They have a high opinion of you, but if you insist they will put your name down to take all tests." Draco said.

"I do insist." She had always had to work hard for what she wanted, and she didn't want to form the habit of just expecting things to be handed to her. Her three closest friends had formed that habit and she hated it.

"Very well, I will make a note of that." Draco said, he stood to leave so that she could get some sleep. "The background checks are tomorrow at the office." He said. Ginny had realized he had left out a crucial detail.

"Wait, who's office?" She asked, as he put his hand on the door handle.

"Oh.. I'm sorry, I suppose I should mention, You will be working for me." He turned and looked at her. "Will that be a problem?"

"No." She said softly. The moment that he had said that, her heart began to beat faster, and the smallest blush creeped to her cheeks. He had a flair for the dramatic, that's for sure, she thought as he swept out of the room. The minute he was out of sight her heart went back to normal and her cheeks once again became cool. She would be working for Draco Malfoy... She thought of her friends and family and sighed, no she couldn't see this ending badly at all.

A/N: I forgot to mention before. This IS a love story. just in case there was any doubt. Also huge thank you to arnoldhelen1, because of you I wanted to write this chapter today. I don't plan on letting any of my followers down again, especially not my first 2018 follower. Much loves for you. R&R people! It gives me juice.


	13. Chapter 12

A/N: Ahhh oh my goodness, I am on a ROLL. Yall agree? I'm really eager to see where this goes. Anyway, on we shall go in this journey. JKR owns it all. except any OC i may create. Like Clank, i own her... Well... Draco does. Enjoy :)

Ginny POV:

She was ecstatic, she had aced her background check, but she was never really worried. And she had passed her physical a couple days later with flying colors. Draco had seemed happy when he told her she was his first choice. She had been doubtful, but he had left the results of the other applicants on the table and she decided to snoop. Honestly, she could see why she would be anyone's first choice. She would start as soon as the weekend ended, and she was really excited. She had spent the past week at Draco's office, studying the new system that was being implemented and trying to find any loopholes, she couldn't find any.

Each security pass would have a special charm on it, and the charm left a unique watermark only visible when whoever was on detail at the moment cast another charm on themselves. Once the charm was placed on the security guard they would be the only ones able to see the mark, and during the last week each hire had to memorize and master the charm silently. She accomplished the task in a day.

She was out at the moment, picking up special robes that Draco had ordered for each hire. While she was out, she decided to stop at the quidditch shop nearby. The new Firebolt had just come out and she still hadn't seen it. She sent the garment bag to the Manor and made her way into the shop. There was a crowd surrounding a table with the new broom on it, so she decided to wander a little.

Not long ago, she had planned to become a professional player, but after the war, it just fell to the wayside. In a couple months she would have started her 7th year at Hogwarts, she might have been the captain. It was definitely something that she would have loved before. She was very lucky to get a job before she was even a 7th year, but she wasn't even sure that she was going to back, and now that she had a job, how could she? She was just turning to leave, deciding that this was a bad idea, it would just make her upset, when she saw the new broom, it made her stop in her tracks. It was a gorgeous walnut color and looked much more aerodynamic than the past model. She shook her head and apparated back to her room in the Manor.

"Hey I'm back!" She yelled. She heard a thump and laughed. Draco got scared really easily. She walked out of her room and to the library, where she assumed Draco was. She was right, and he had dropped a small stack of books. As she walked in, he looked up at her with a scowl.

"You could've just come through the front door." He said through his teeth.

"But then it wouldn't be so funny." She said with a chuckle as she picked up a couple books and handed them to Draco.

"So, did you like the robes?" He asked her, he placed the books down on the desk and turned to face her. He folded his arms and leaned on the front of the desk.

"Yeah, they're comfortable, I'm still able to move in them, they'll do the job great." She told him, taking a seat in one of the cushiony armchairs.

"Okay good, you ready?" He asked her, looking semi concerned.

"I've been ready for a week." She said back to him, smiling. "First choice, remember?" She asked sarcastically, pointing at herself. Draco turned back to the books but instead of grabbing them, he picked up an envelope and handed it to Ginny.

"They came early this year." Draco said as she took it from him. "I forgot.. you haven't graduated yet." Ginny looked down at the envelope then back up at Draco.

"I didn't expect this.." Ginny said, astonished. She really hadn't been expecting this problem to come up so soon. She wasn't even sure what to do.

Draco POV:

The letter had come this morning. It was Ginny's Hogwarts letter. Damn. He had completely spaced that Ginny wasn't in the same year as he. She had hung out with the golden trio so much that he had forgotten. He had busied himself all day in the library reorganizing the books. Or trying to, it was difficult to organize something that was so boring.

When Ginny came back, it had startled him and made him drop a stack of family histories. He had cursed under his breath and was still fuming when she walked into the room. When he heard her laugh though, it made him less broody. He had to force himself to glare at her, but he wasn't upset at her at all, but he was looking forward to be working in the same place as her. That letter had just put him in a sour mood. He liked having her around the Manor.

Giving her that letter, he could see her face fall. Maybe he should have waited a couple of weeks to give it to her. What if she went back home and then decided to go to Hogwarts? He didn't want to think about that possibility at all. He was shaken out of his thoughts by Ginny talking.

"Well.. Do you still want me to work for you?" She asked him seriously.

"You don't want to go back? I mean.. I'm sure that there's better jobs out there.. You could go back, decide what you want to do. You don't have to start doing work now." He said to her. He wanted her to stay, but he also wanted her to make the best decision for herself, and if she thought that going back to school, then she should go.

"Well.. I want to work. Maybe I can just decide when the time gets closer?" She said.

"I wouldn't wait too long.. I think there's a badge in that envelope." He said. He watched her fell the weight of the envelope and then sigh. she laid her head back and closed her eyes. Then she suddenly sat up and ripped open the envelope. One badge fell out, and another quickly followed. She picked them both up and studied them closely. He took a step forward and looked at them, one was a quidditch captain badge and the other was a head girl badge.

"Wow.. Both in one go." She said. She looked up at him with a small smile. He nodded, truly impressed that she had gotten both. "I guess I have to go back.." He crossed his arms, he thought she would choose to go back. He had hoped that she wouldn't, but that was just wishful thinking.

"Well, I still want you to work at the office, if you don't mind?" He said to her. She was still his first, albeit best, choice of security. She would at least rub off on some of his other employees, well he hoped she would.

"Really? I would love to. I really do want to work there. It would still be nice to have something to do during the week, and I can still just pick up my school stuff on weekends." She said, she looked semi excited to be going back.

"Well, I guess youll be wanting to go back home then?" He said, he realized just a bit late that he sounded mad.

"What? No. I told you, I came here for space. If you want me to leave, just say so." She stood up to leave the room.

"No, that's not what I said, I just thought that's what you would want." He said, now he was angry, but he was mad at himself for being so daft.

"Well its not. I don't want to be in the shadow of everyone again. You know at my brother's funeral, I was sat on the other side of Harry and Hermione? None of my siblings or my parents sat next to me. I'm done being ignored and put behind others." She looked upset, and her ears had turned bright red. She then turned and walked back out of the library.

Draco ran his hands through his hair and walked to the other side of the desk, he sat down in the chair and put his head in his hands. He had blown it, now he really wouldn't be surprised if she left. He was feeling like a great git right now.

A/N: HEY so I was thinking, what if I ended this story with the next chapter and start a sequel story when she starts her 7th year? Thoughts? Theyd be very welcome. leave a review letting me know what you think! Thank yall! Much loves.


	14. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey yall, so I'm still not sure about doing a sequel or not, I'd love your opinions! Leave a comment or message me and tell me what you think. I thrive on the support Ive been receiving. As always, enjoy this chapter and leave a tidbit. Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter.

Ginny POV:

It had been a rough couple of weeks since their argument in the library. She had now been at the Manor for roughly a month and she and Draco had barely spoken since that night. It pained her, he had made her mad but she thought that maybe she had made him upset too. She hadn't meant to. She had a terrible time controlling what came out of her mouth.

Work had been fantastic though, she was loving her job and she loved that it was practical. She didn't know if she was helping anyone, but it felt good to know that if she was needed, she was there. At first, Draco had thought just one guard at a time was sufficient, but with how many people came through those offices in a day, they ended up needing two per shift. Her next shift was starting in about 15 minutes, and she was dressing in her robes to leave when she heard Draco leave the house. He had started leaving early whenever they worked at the same time. She knew she should leave in a couple minutes, be early instead of late. She sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a professional.

She arrived at work shortly after Draco had and waited outside for him to open the doors. Once he did he glanced at her, a sorry look on his face.

"Peyton sent an owl, he is sick. So it looks like you're all by yourself this morning." She replied with a nod and a sigh as she cast the charm to read the badges on herself.

"Fine, but I swear I'm going to leave him alone one day. Go on a coffee run and just leave him high and dry." She said as she turned back around. She was joking, of course, that would be cruel. She heard a laugh and turned to see Draco shaking his head with a small smile on his face. Without another thought, she flashed him a smile in return. A awkward silence filled the air between them, Draco finished with the doors and then cleared his throat.

"Ill try to see if anyone can come in early?" He asked her, breaking the tension.

"Thank you," She said to him, blood rushing to her cheeks as she turned away. A few moments later she turned back to see if he was still there, he had left and she felt the blush leave her face slowly.

Draco POV:

He was busy all day, he could only imagine what it was like downstairs. He knew his employees were choking in work and he could only imagine what the day had been like for Ginny. Close couldn't come fast enough and he sighed with relief when Ginny locked the front doors and came upstairs.

"People are already losing their badges." She said with a sigh. She sat down in his office and tore off her cloak, it had been a warm afternoon and she looked exhausted. "Is there any other way to do this? They're losing them left and right then getting pissy when I turn them away."

"Maybe.." He muttered, trying to finish up his last bit of paperwork for the evening. She was silent and he signed a few more papers then he set down his quill and looked up at her. "Oh! Clank popped in today, came with this." He held out a small stack of letters. He had looked at who they were for, all of them were for Ginny.

"Oh, thanks." She stood up and grabbed them, she opened the top one and he watched her eyes go back and forth over the paper. "Huh, Hermione moved in, they want us to come for dinner on Saturday." She looked up at him, he hadn't realized what she had said.

"Well you should go, its dinner, a good time to see them, let them know I haven't killed you." He muttered the last part under his breath. He saw her mouth twitch up in a small smile. He loved it when she smiled..

"Draco." She said, she stared at him. "The invited _us_ to dinner." She repeated. His heart almost stopped when he realized what she meant.

"Me too?" He croaked. He was terrified, he had taunted and hurt their family so much, why would they want to meet him? She nodded.

"Would you want to? I know we don't have work that day and like you said, maybe it would be good to see them." She said to him. "Maybe it would be good for.. well for both of us." He was starting to feel panic set in. "It's day after tomorrow, so just let me know tomorrow what you think and I'll reply then?" She suggested to him, trying to ease his mind. He nodded with relief. She gathered the letters from her lap and stood to leave.

If he answered now, he wouldn't be able to back out. If he waited, he would think so much he would just come up with an answer on the spot. He should just say yes, what's the worst that could happen? He jumped up from his chair, almost as though against his will and went after Ginny, he caught her just as she was rounding the corner of the hallway to the stairs.

"Hey, Ginny!" He said, she turned around to face him as he slowed his jog to a walk. "Yeah, I'll um.. yeah i will go." He said to her. She gave him a smile.

"Great, I'll write my mum tonight. I'm glad you said yes... I've started to miss my mum's food a bit." She laughed, and it made Draco's neck burn. "Hey, I am going to head back to the Manor. Want me to have Clank cook us both something so we can eat together. Its just been so weird to be in a fight." He was so relieved, he hated these past couple weeks.. Thank god for those letters... He was convinced they had fixed whatever was wrong.

"Yeah, I'll be just a few minutes. Give you some time to write that letter." He said. He had to just go over things with the employees downstairs to make sure the day went smoothly then he would head home. She gave him a wave then disappeared In a spin.

He was about 10 minutes behind Ginny when he arrived home. He hung up his cloak and went straight to the kitchen. Ginny was sitting with a cup of tea and a smile. She noticed him and gestured for him to sit across form her.

"I thought you might like what I had your elves cook, Its a small piece of Hogwarts." She said. At that moment, a plate appeared in front of each of them and their dinner was set up like a feast. If a feast only had three dishes. He had always loved the Hogwarts feasts though, and he loved this as well.

"Its perfect, thank you." He said. He loaded up his plate, he had skipped lunch, and Ginny did the same.

Ginny POV:

She hadn't written the letter before dinner in case Draco had changed his mind. She was sure he would. He looked petrified when she had made it clear he had been invited as well. Instead, she had read the other three letters. All but one said that they were looking forward to meeting Draco again, this time in a new light. Then again, Ron had always been a git and he had made it very clear he would not speak to her at all if Draco came to dinner. Unlucky for him, she knew exactly how to set him straight. She was going to write Hermione.

She was nervous about having dinner with Draco for the first time in weeks, but it had gone smoothly and she was fairly certain they had fixed the badge problem at work. They had the idea that maybe they could get the badges to return to their owner if they were lost, but she would run it by Hermione to make sure it would work. They had spoken for a little after dinner before she mentioned they both had work again in the morning and should head to bed. They both awkwardly said goodnight and headed up the stairs a few moments apart. once she got to her room she wrote her mother to tell her they would be there for dinner on Saturday. She also wrote Hermione and included Ron's letter with hers. Hermione would be fuming, she was all for second chances for people.

A/N: So... Yeah. not the best. but on the upside, not ending this story yet. But I'm starting to think instead of a sequel to just lapse the time whenever I need to. Review! Much loves.


	15. Chapter 14

A/N: So I got some advice, and I decided to try something like a time lapse instead of a sequel. So bear with me while I try to figure it out, but for now, enjoy the story, R&R, also I'm getting a beta for this story, so hopefully my writing will me a tad better (But, this chapter is the last that is all me, Sorry guys) Disclaimer, JKR owns it all.

Ginny POV:

She was nervous about tonight, she was seeing her family for the first time in a month, she really had missed them, but she felt as though being away was really good for her, it gave her time to think and well.. grow into herself. She wanted her parents to like Draco, he really had changed, it was plain to see. She knew though, that many people just refused to see it. Ginny had skipped breakfast that morning, not feeling hungry at all, her nerves were messing with her, she barely even slept the night before.

She was told by Clank that Draco wanted to have an early lunch with her, so she was now making her way downstairs, finally dressed for the day in a t-shirt and jeans. She entered the kitchen and found Draco nursing a small glass of firewhiskey.

"Hey, you alright?" She asked him, making him jump slightly.

"Oh hey, yes, I'm fine." He said, taking a drink. She walked over and gently pulled the glass from his hands.

"You'll be fine Draco, I promise. The second you want to leave, we will. But you don't need to be nervous." She said to him, suddenly calm. She picked up a sandwich from a plate in the middle of the table and sat down.

"Easy for you to say, they are your family. They hate me." He said, she wondered how much he had already drank, as he seemed extra brooding.

"Draco Malfoy, they invited you to dinner. Don't even think that they aren't going to give you a chance, as it is, they generally trust my judgement." She shrugged and took a bite of her food. He nodded slightly. "Now, don't drink anymore today, it would probably be better if you came to dinner sober." She chuckled and he cracked a small smile. She thought maybe she had calmed him down a bit.

"What time is it at again?" He asked her. She summoned the letter and scanned over it.

"Six. But i can guarantee that's when food will be ready so lets be there at five?" She suggested, he returned to looking worried but nodded in agreement anyway. Ginny then suggested they go up to the library until they had to leave and maybe work a bit to get their minds off of the upcoming evening.

Draco POV:

They went up to the library and time seemed to pass twice as fast. Before either knew it, Clank was coming up to tell them it was five to five.

"Thank you Clank, you may go." Draco said to the small elf, she bowed and vanished with a loud pop. He looked over to Ginny and was given an encouraging smile as she put away some papers she had been looking at. They made their way downstairs and grabbed their coats off the rack. They left the house together and he locked the door behind him.

"We have to do side-along apparition, you have never been to the Burrow." Ginny said, holding out her hand. He gave her a nod and gripped her hand tightly, he felt the familiar tug at his naval that came with apparition and focused on not splinching. He had his eyes shut tight as he could feel them spinning and before he knew it, they were once again on solid ground. He opened his eyes slowly to see the crooked house towering above him.

"Wow.." He said softly. "I never expected it to look like this." Ginny looked at him, slightly confused.

"But you were always making fun of it?" She said, and it was true, he had. At that moment though, looking up, he could just feel a sense of warmth and magic coming from the house. It felt like what he had just realized he thought a home should feel like. Nothing like what he felt at the Manor. He looked at her, a smile on his face.

"I take back every word." He said to her.

"Well that's something I never thought I would hear from the mouth of a Malfoy." Said a voice from behind them, making them both jump a bit. Draco had forgotten he had held her hand and he pulled his from hers quickly as he turned around. George Weasley was standing behind them and it took Draco a minute to figure out why he looked different. George was frowning, something Draco had never seen. Ginny stepped forward quickly and gave her brother a hug, and George returned the hug, a small smile breaking on his face. Draco stuck out his hand once they broke apart and a moment passed before George held out his and gave a firm handshake.

"George. I was sorry to hear about your brother.. He was a good man, helped me out of a couple tight spots in school." Draco said. He and Fred had sworn to never tell anyone, but it seemed that was a moot point now. George cocked his head to the side slightly.

"Really? I find that hard to believe." He said to Draco, giving him a hard look.

"Honest. It was when Umbridge was at the school, old hag was wanting me to torture a few second years. Fred walked by, heard me speaking to them, and he came in and asked what was going on. He made everyone scream and fed them those.. what were they, Nosebleed Nougat? Well it made them look horrific and he helped them put the blood everywhere.. He saved me and a bunch of kids that day." He said. As he told the story, George seemed to perk up a bit. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he thought maybe they could get along.

"Well.. Come along inside." George cleared his throat and stepped in front of them, leading them to the closest door. Draco looked at Ginny, she was looking down, thinking.

It turns out the closest door was the back door leading into the kitchen. The entered and saw Mrs. Weasley and Hermione working on the food. The girls automatically hugged Ginny and George, exchanging a few words. Ginny then stepped back and gestured to Draco.

"You both remember Draco?" She said to them. Hermione gave him a small smile and a wave and the next thing he knew, the older woman was dragging him to the table. She sat him down forcefully and set food in front of him.

"You _are_ thin, you must eat a bit dear, dinner won't be for a minute. I hope Ginny has been making you food? She should know better thank to not make you a good meal if you are being so nice as to let her stay there. Oh and i apologize for the mess, its been quite busy here lately." She said this all very quickly and the only thing Draco could think to do was smile at her. She had already turned back to the pots on the stove.

"Thank you mum." Ginny said, sounding slightly exasperated. "But he knows how to cook for himself, I don't need to cook for him." Mrs. Weasley turned and smacked her only daughter lightly on the arm with a spoon.

"Well it's polite, you are the guest in the poor boy's home for Merlin's sake." She said to her, looking stern, but a smile was playing on her lips. Draco couldn't help but smile a bit as George sat down across from him at the table.

"I believe that Fred would do that. He loved to help people." He said softly. Draco nodded to him as he took a bite of the food in front of him.

"He was brilliant. He helped me get out of trouble with Filtch more than once." He said with a small laugh. "Usually it was without even knowing it. I don't know why, but he never seemed to hate me. Unlike everyone else he kinda helped me whenever he could. I looked up to him a lot." Draco would never tell anyone that, but he felt like George really needed to hear these things.

"You and me both." George said to him. Draco quickly brought the conversation to their respective jobs and they talked about that until George's father walked into the room and saw him. Draco stood up and shook his hand, Mr. Weasley looked at him skeptically and broke the handshake after a moment.

"Hello.. Draco." He said to the young man. Draco gulped and met the man's eyes. He had always respected him, the man had stood up for his family to the late Lucius too many times to count.

"Good evening sir. Thank you for allowing me to come tonight." He was worried, he thought for sure that Mr. Weasley would hate him more than any of the others, Lucius Malfoy had done everything he could to make the man's life hell.

"Of course son, any friend of my daughter's is welcome into our home." He suddenly smiled and Draco finally felt his heart slow. "As I understand though, you are also her boss at work?" He asked Draco. He nodded and they dove straight into an in depth conversation about how Draco ran his business. Conversation flowed easily for a bit and then they decided to move into the living room. Mrs. Weasley had yelled at them that if they wanted food, they needed to leave her kitchen. He, George and Mr. Weasley moved to the living room, still talking, but silence took the room when they saw Harry and Ron. They both looked up, and they both rose from their spots on the floor. Ron looked at Draco with rage filled eyes but said nothing, as Mr. Weasley was looking at him with a stern look. Harry walked over, they looked at eachother for a moment before The silence was broken.

"Malfoy."

"Potter." Draco responded without thinking, then he grinned. He really was an idiot in school. He stuck out his hand for what felt like the hundredth time that day and shook Harry's hand.

"Fancy a game of chess? Ron was just about to lose anyway, I'm sure he would give up his spot." He asked, turning to look at Ron, who then marched past them into the kitchen muttering under his breath. "Don't mind him, he's just unwilling to give anyone a chance." He thought Harry was being overly pleasant to him, maybe it was to make up for the fact his ex girlfriend was living in Draco's house. He sat on the floor next to the chessboard and looked over to the doorway to the kitchen. Ginny was standing there, looking over at the pair, her eyes continued to dodge between them until she noticed Draco looking at her. She then turned quickly back to the kitchen and out of sight.

Ginny POV:

Dinner was a huge disaster. Everyone was happy and enjoying the meal in the beginning, it was perfectly pleasant. Until Ron decided to open his fat mouth.

"Is anyone going to even question the fact that we just spent near a year fighting Voldemort and Deatheaters, then we invite one of _them_ to dinner?" He said loudly as soon as there was a hint of silence. Ginny could swear at that moment, you could've heard a pin drop in the room next to them.

"Ron.. We talked about this." Hermione hissed into his ear.

"Nooo, you spoke and told me to not be a git. i am just stating the obvious. We can't trust him!" He said, pointing to Draco.

"Ronald, you behave yourself. Draco-" Her mum started to say before being cut off by Ron.

"Mum, how can you be so blind?" Ron said to her. "Am I seriously the only one who thinks that this piece of sh-"

" _Ronald._ " Her dad said. Everyone fell silent. It was strange for him to raise his voice, but he sounded purely disappointed in his youngest son. "You may be pleasant or you will leave the table. I will not have you speaking to your mother in that tone." Ginny was shocked. Generally, her dad would scold one of them but never punish. It was always her mum who punished them.

"Sir?" Draco said quietly. "May I say something?" Her dad looked at Draco, as did she. He took a deep breath.

"You don't have to-" She began to say softly to him and he smiled at her, which made her stop talking.

"Ron, I could care less if you like me, and I know you don't believe me, but i have changed. You, on the other hand, are holding onto a schoolboy grudge. Potter here had even spoken to me this evening, I don't know why you can't look past my mistakes to see that I am different, but I truly am. I wish you would give me a chance to prove it to you." He said. It sounded as though he had been practicing it in his head all night, he didn't pause to think at all. Before Ron could say anything Ginny spoke up.

"He saved me." She said suddenly. and everyone at the table looked at her, confusion in every eye. "At the battle, I was almost done for when he came by and saved me. Who knows, he could've saved you without you realizing it. You're being a right git to him without knowing all of the facts." She was angry at Ron and the last part of her sentence came through her teeth. "You have no idea what he's been through, you have no idea who he really is-"

"What?! And you do?" Ron exclaimed. "You know 'who he really is'?" He asked, mocking her.

"Far more than you ever have. I live with him! He's kind, caring, he is smarter that you have ever been and has a load more compassion than you. You have NO right to hate him. He was a git when he was a kid, we were all kids." She said to him. "But we aren't children anymore, so stop acting like one!"

"He killed Dumbledore!" Ron cried out. Harry looked at him incredulously.

"Ron, Snape killed Dumbledore. I told you that." Ron looked guilty before starting up again.

"Well Malfoy was going to!" Ron said.

"Actually..." Draco began, and all eyes were on him once again. "Dumbledore offered to take my mother and I into hiding, to protect us.. I wasn't going to kill him.." Ron stared at him, mouth open and shook his head.

"No. Dumbledore never said that, Harry never told me that so it didn't happen." Ron said, still shaking his head. Harry looked uncomfortable as he replied to Ron.

"Yes he did Ron.. He offered to keep them safe. I heard it, just felt like I didn't need to say that." Ginny looked triumphant as Ron stood up and stormed out of the room.

A bit later, as they were all saying goodbye, Ginny turned to Draco with a small smile, "That went well." She said to him, making him grimace. Molly then embraced him in a hug.

"I expect to see both of you next weekend for dinner. I will not take no for an answer." She said, giving them each a stern look.

"Yes mum," Ginny said as she rolled her eyes. She and Draco walked back outside and aparrated themselves back to the Manor. They were exhausted and parted ways to go to bed.

A/N: Couldn't find a great spot to end this chapter, so here it is. I hope this lived up to your wildest dreams and then some. Much loves.


	16. Chapter 15

A/N: I know it's been a few days, but I have a job and have been working quite a bit. Anyway, enjoy the chapter! R&R! JKR owns Harry Potter.

Ginny POV:

Dinners had been going very well, Mum had banned Ron from attending them and would make him stay out of the room. She had let him come to the second dinner, but that had gone about as well as the first. Everyone was loving Draco, they knew he'd had a rough go and they accepted that he had a hard past. And she thought that maybe he loved going to the dinners as well. And ever since he had commented that he loved her mum's cooking, she had sent them home with leftovers every time.

Ginny was waiting downstairs for Draco to finish getting ready for the last dinner before she left for school in two days. Her mum had made sure they knew to bring their appetites, as she was making an extra special dinner for Ginny's departure. She smiled as she heard him walking downstairs, it sounded as though he was taking the steps two at a time. She looked up to where he was and grimaced slightly, as homage to Hogwarts and her house, he was wearing a sweater that was crimson and gold, and he looked awful. She knew though, that he was excited for her and it meant a lot to her.

He was smiling as he made the rest of his way downstairs, she smiled back at him and held out her hand, he had appariated to the completely wrong spot last time, so she knew he would need to go with her. He grabbed he hand and she spun on the spot.

They were greeted by George, who had made it a habit to meet them at their appariation spot. He and Ginny instantly hugged each other and, surprising Ginny and Draco, turned to Draco and gave him a hug as well. Maybe it was due to the fact that Draco, inexplicably, had helped him pull a prank on Ron last week that had caused Ron to run about the house with bubblegum pink and yellow hair. It thrilled Ginny that they got along so well, she had noticed that George was smiling more than ever since his twin had passed. As a group they made their way to the house, laughing and talking along the way, and were greeted by more hugs from the rest of Ginny's family.

Draco POV:

As soon as they got to the door, Molly (she had insisted a few weeks ago that the only people to call her Mrs. Weasley were the family she no longer communicated with) had ushered them inside, saying that they would catch a cold if they stood outside for too long. They made their way into the living room and he and Harry sprung up a game of chess, they had made it sort of a ritual. The joked with George, who was watching, as they played. Harry had been instrumental in tricking Ron last week and they were thinking of more ways they could prank him.

"We could always hide all his knickers." Harry laughed. George feigned shock.

"He actually wears knickers?!" He cried out, making everyone in the room chuckle.

"What ever happened to those Canary Creams George?" Ginny asked, inserting herself into the conversation. "We could feed him a load of those, sit back and watch as he sprout feathers." She leaned back in the sofa with an evil smirk. Draco looked at her, with her mind, she should have been a Slytherin. They all laughed a bit, and after a few more jokes, George disappeared into the kitchen. Draco looked over at Harry with a confused look on his face, then at Ginny, both of whom had similar looks as his. A moment later, George reentered the room, holding a large bottle of firewhiskey and four glasses.

"Dad, mum says it's up to you if Ginny can celebrate with us." He said to his father, his father smiled and nodded his head.

"Celebrate?" Draco asked as George poured the drinks. George gave him a grin and raised a glass.

"I just opened a second shop!" He cried out. Glasses were raised, accompanied by cheers and they all drank.

"To Fred, who made this all possible, who was the best partner in crime I could ask for." He raised his glass once more and they drank again, this time without cheers, in remembrance of the man who had died too soon.

"To Harry, who actually made it possible," Ginny laughed. And George nodded in agreement as he took another gulp. Draco set his empty glass down. George automatically filled it once more.

"Wait, how?" Draco asked. Harry looked at him with a smirk.

"Gave them my Triwizard winnings." He said, emptying his glass. Draco's mouth fell open in shock.

"Are you serious?" Draco asked the room. Everyone laughed and he looked at Ginny, who nodded her head. "Well cheers to that." He said, taking a drink as they heard Molly call for everyone to come eat. All of the teenagers drank far too much that night, the living room was full of laughter and loud voices into the early hours of the next day, until Harry tripped his way up the stairs to go to bed. George shook his head at the foolishness of going up those stairs and fell onto the couch. Draco looked over at the large stuffed chair opposite the room and gestured to it.

"I don't know about you, but there's no way in hell I can climb up those stairs, let alone get home." He slurred a bit as the words came out, making Ginny laugh. His stomach suddenly felt as though a million butterflies had made a home in it. She was blushing deeply as she made her way over to the chair. He climbed in beside her and pulled the lever for it to recline. Instantly his eyelids weighed a ton and he felt himself drifting off into sleep.

"Goodnight Draco." He thought he heard a soft voice say to him. He reached over and grabbed the small hand next to him.

" 'Night love." He said, sleep overtaking him quickly.

He had the best dream that night, he and Ginny were back at the Manor. They were in the library and Dream Ginny was laughing about something he had said. She was sitting in the armchair, her legs slung over one arm, reading a book. He walked over to her and looked down at her face, he was standing directly behind her head and he let one hand brush away a stray bit of hair from her face. She gazed up at him and beckoned him to lean over. He was happy to oblige and did as asked. In return, she kissed him, one hand rest on the back of his neck, as she let her lips rest gently on his. He pulled away and gave her a grin.

"Oh Ginny," He sighed, as he said this, he felt the dream pull away from him, felt real heat on his face, sunlight. He opened his eyes slowly and, realizing where he was, and who he was with, looked to his side, where Ginny lay. She, apparently, had been awake and was giving him a puzzled look.

"Um.. Draco? What were you dreaming about?" She asked him, making him realize that he had said her name aloud. He felt a deep blush enter his cheeks, lost as to what to say to her.

A/N: Also, I know this one isn't as long as the last few have been, but I feel like it ended good. So deal with it. Much Loves.


	17. Chapter 16

A/N: My husband said he was surprised I wasn't working on this, so here it is. Also I am so happy with getting new followers and favorites! Thank you all so much for bearing with me. I still really appreciate reviews! JKR owns Harry Potter (Also why my style doesn't exactly match yall. I'm not her) Anyway, enjoy the new chapter!

Draco POV:

He had no idea what to say to Ginny, he couldn't tell her about his dream, it was already escaping his memory. He stood up suddenly as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Erm.. Ginny I don't.." He stammered, she gave him a puzzled look and shook her head. He felt his heard pounding in his chest as he looked at her. " I don't remember." He said quickly, though he did remember that in his dream, they had kissed. She glanced up at him from the chair and shrugged.

"Okay, no big deal. Let's just forget it?" She said. He nodded as Ron entered the room. He was rubbing his eyes, and once he lowered his hands he stopped in his tracks. Draco watched his face turn from sleepy to confused, and finally, to anger.

"Oi! What are you doing with my sister?" He said. He started to march toward Draco, who also had no clue what to say to Ron without making him more upset.

"Had your coffee yet?" George said, stepping between them, and holding up a steaming cup of coffee. He proceeded to take a sip, glancing around innocently at the others. Draco looked over at Ginny, who was eyeing the cup greedily.

"Fancy a cup Ginny?" Draco said, not waiting for a response and turning into the kitchen. He quickly found two cups and filled each. Entering the living room again, he noticed that Ron had disappeared and he sighed with relief while handing Ginny her cup. The coffee was fantastic, he had realized in the kitchen he had a massive headache from drinking the night before.

Once everyone was on their second cup, Ginny's family started to trickle downstairs. Arthur Weasley was the first (well, first besides Ron) to come down, and he proceeded to return upstairs with coffee for he and his wife. Harry came downstairs and settled into the couch, reading the paper. Hermione followed a couple minutes later and sat next to him. He automatically handed her the part he had already finished.

George was the only one who spoke, he was talking to Ginny about her upcoming year. He seemed excited about her being Head Girl, and kept asking questions about what her duties would be. After a bit, she told him to bugger off until she had some food, and as if on cue, Molly appeared, saying she was going to make everyone some breakfast.

Ginny POV:

Breakfast was quiet and tense, Ron had decided to join them until he had to leave for work since it was the day before Ginny left. He tried to speak to her, but she would just answer him shortly. She was still upset he had been acting like such a prat.

"Mum, why would you let Ginny and Draco sleep together?" He said suddenly. It seemed, if it was possible, to get even quieter. Her mum looked over at the pair, who were sitting next to each other. Ginny felt a blush rise into her cheeks and when she glanced at Draco, she noted he was also red.

"Ginny?" Her mother asked. She knew that her mum didn't want to accuse anyone, but a glance at her father told her that if this wasn't explained, Draco wouldn't be welcome any longer. Suddenly, George laughed.

"Sorry mum, my fault. We were too.. well too sloshed to go upstairs last night and I took the couch instead of letting Ginny have it. I swear, I told Draco that we would share the seat last night. I am sorry." The last part, he directed at Draco, who had the sense to catch on and nod.

"No harm done mate. I would've gone home but I think I would've splinched bad. I'm sorry Molly." He said to her mum, and she nodded to him.

"Well we would hate for you to be hurt dear, but just so you know, there's extra blankets and such in the closet in the hall." She said to him.

"I'm sorry mum, I was just so tired I didn't even think about what it might have looked like. When he woke this morning though, he was nothing but nice and hopped right up. I don't think any of us were quite right last night." She glanced over at her dad, who caught her eye and gave her a smile.

"Like your mum said, no harm done. Just maybe lets not have it happen again. To avoid this?" Her dad said, she nodded and smiled at him as everyone fell silent again, the only sound was forks on plates as everyone tried to finish their meals quickly. Hermione and Ginny finished at the same time and Hermione met her on the way to the sink.

"Fancy a chat? It's been a while since we had time to catch up." She looked at Ginny hopefully and jumped a step when she nodded.

"Mum, were going on a walk." Ginny said and her mother waved to them as they walked out of the house. They made their way through a small row of trees and to a creek. Hermione found a fallen tree and sat down on the trunk of it. She patted for Ginny to sit next to her.

"I have a feeling this is more than just a chat. What is it?" Ginny asked her. Hermione fidgeted around a little before pulling a small wooden box out of her pocket.

"Ginny you know I love Ron." She said, Ginny gave her an even gaze and nodded. "Well… What if… Well what would you think if… " She bit her lip and looked at Ginny.

" 'Mione, I can't read your mind, just spit it out." She said. She thought she knew what she was going to say though.

"Well… alright… What would you think if… if I asked Ron to marry me?" She asked Ginny nervously. Ginny jumped up and hugged her tight.

"I would love that. I just can't believe he hasn't asked you yet." She said, giving her best friend a large grin. Hermione sighed in relief and opened the wooden box. She turned it toward Ginny, showing a dark metal ring.

"Oh that is lovely." Ginny said softly. "I know my brother's an idiot, but if he says no, then he will probably be alone for the rest of his life. Only a woman like you could set him straight."

"Thank you so much Ginny." Hermione said to her. Ginny sat back down on the tree and the two stayed silent watching the water for a bit before Hermione broke the silence.

"What's going on with you and Draco?" She asked. Ginny looked over at her, surprised.

"What do you mean?" She asked, blush rushing to her cheeks. Hermione gave her a skeptical look.

"Please, I see the way you look at him, and I see the way he looks at you. You're always right next to each other, he even got you a job working for him. I'm just saying, I think you have feelings for him, if I'm wrong, just tell me." She fell quiet and tucked the wooden box back into her pocket. Ginny was silent for a moment.

"I don't know… I grew up hating him, but now… I've lived with him all summer… I work for him.. I think it just might be too soon to tell what I think." She said after some thought. Hermione nodded in understanding.

"Okay.. Well when you do know, will you be sure to tell me?" She asked, looking over at Ginny. Ginny smiled at her and nodded.

"Of course I will." She said. "We should head back, before our boys rip each other's heads off." She said, jumping down from the tree.

"Ohhhh 'our boys' too soon still?" Hermione teased. Ginny laughed and rolled her eyes.

" Oh, you know what I mean." She said as she started walking, but she realized, she didn't even know what she meant. Hermione had made her start thinking about what their, Draco and hers, situation was. What exactly did he mean to her?

A/N:Hope you enjoyed the new addition! I just realized how much talking there is, and not too much Draco... We'll have to rectify that won't we? Much Loves


	18. Chapter 17

A/N: So.. i find constructive criticism great you guys, but this writing is like therapy to me, it makes me feel like i am actually doing something, so when someone is just flat rude, makes me not want to write. But my sister, she is an angel, and she told me i just had to brush it off, so without her, this chapter wouldn't be up. Thank you, everyone who is following this story. Here is the new chapter, as always, JKR owns Harry Potter.

Draco POV:

He had suggested that he was going to leave, but Ginny had insisted that he stay the night again and go with them all to Kings Cross the next day. He had reluctantly agreed, unsure if it was a good idea. She had given him a quick hug when he agreed, then she and Hermione had run upstairs to pack her things.

He had sat on the ground with Harry and struck up a game of chess, the living room was tense, Ron was sitting on the couch, glowering at him. A bit into the game, Draco stood up with a sigh. Harry looked at him and grinned.

"I quit, you're going to win." Draco tossed his hands up and crossed the room to the chair he and Ginny had shared the night before. Harry laughed, and reset the game pieces.

"Ron.. why don't you try? Everyone know you'll kick his arse." Draco said. Ron looked taken aback and slowly stood up and took his place across from Harry. Harry flashed a smile to Draco. He knew that he was still trying to make peace to Ron, and the smile showed Draco that Harry appreciated his efforts. Ron switched his attention from Draco to the game and slowly, the tension left the room. By the time the girls came back downstairs, George and Draco were sitting next to each other, talking about the store. Draco looked up as Ginny entered the room, and his heart pounded against his chest as She smiled at him. He drew his eyes away from her and caught George in the middle of a sentence.

"And I think that if I can get it right, you would be able to construct your own dreams." He was saying, excitedly. Draco nodded.

"That's really advanced, but I think you could use your daydream charms as a base." Draco said thoughtfully. George hit himself on the forehead.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" He said. "That's genius, If I tweaked it, maybe then it would work." He began to mutter to himself, stood up, and proceeded to make his way up the stairs. Draco smiled as Ginny plopped herself onto the couch.

"All packed?" He asked her. She nodded. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

Ginny POV:

She looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm a little nervous. Last time I went to school alone.." She trailed off. Draco looked down, he knew he was part of what she was thinking about.

"I'm sorry.." He said softly.

"It's alright, this year will be fine. I'm not sure about doing my NEWTS though. I think Hermione already made me a study schedule." She laughed. "But I can't wait for Quidditch." She said. She really was excited for that, being able to build up her own team, they hadn't played at all last year and she missed the competition. The conversation flowed easily into Quidditch and they began to discuss tactics and players. They both agreed it would have to be a whole new team, most of the players that Harry had as captain were out of Hogwarts. Before they knew it, the day had passed them by and George came running back down the stairs, he was holding a small vial of liquid.

"Draco, I think I did it." He said. "I just need to test it." Draco gave him a high five and took the vial. He studied it for a second.

"Umm.. What?" Ginny asked. Draco handed the vial back to George as her brother explained what they had come up with together. "Wow, that's.. awesome" She said. "I'll take it." She told him.

"Really?" George said, shocked.

"Of course, I'll take it tonight and let you know tomorrow if it worked." George gave her a huge hug and the vial. She sat back down as he gave her instructions on what to do.

"Oh, and eat something beforehand. It has an ingredient in it that might make you sick if you take it on an empty stomach." Ginny nodded, acknowledging what he said.

The rest of the night passed by uneventfully, Ron joined them for dinner after he had come home from a couple hours at the office and, for the first time, he didn't make any snide comments about Draco joining them. They had had dinner later than normal, and Ginny was tired, so she went to sleep right after dinner. She took the potion, hoping that it would work, already having a specific dream in mind. She drifted off, and did what George had told her, thinking exactly about what she wanted to dream about.

Suddenly she was at Hogwarts, in the great hall, And she was sitting at the Slytherin table. Someone was sitting next to her, and she looked at them. It was Draco, and he was reading a book.

"Hey." She said to him.

"Hi?" He laughed a little and shut his book. "Enjoying your dinner?" He asked. She looked down, in front of her was the first thing she had ever cooked for Draco, biscuits and gray. She took a bite, savoring it.

"It's good." She said. "What are you reading?" She asked him. He showed her the front of the book, Hogwarts: A History. She looked at him and they locked eyes.

"Draco.. I.. What is this?" She said softly. He shrugged.

"What do you want this to be?" He asked her, he placed his hand on her knee softly.

"I don't know…" She said, leaning toward him slowly. Her lips met his cheek softly. She drew back to see his reaction, and immediately, he pressed his lips to hers. She felt his hand slide up her leg, shifting her school skirt. She drew back, taking a deep breath and slid to the next seat over.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"Ginny, I want to be with you." He said.

"What?" She said softly. He slid himself over next to her and took her hand.

"Gin, I've always wanted to be with you." He said, brushing a stray piece of hair out of he face.

" I don't.. know what to say.." Ginny said. He pulled her close to him and kissed her hard. One hand tangled into her hair and the other rest on her hip. She felt his thumb hook under her shirt and pull it from the waistband of her skirt. His hand creeped up under her shirt and-

She was awake. Well, she was being shaken awake.

"Ginny, wake up." Hermione was standing over her, shaking her shoulder.

"What? I was sleeping.." She grumbled.

"Gin, it's time to go. If we don't leave soon, we'll be late." Hermione said. Ginny realized what she was saying and jumped out of bed. It was time to go back to Hogwarts.

A/N: Sorry if the spacing is weird, trying to figure that one out. Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! Much Loves


	19. Chapter 18

A/N: So my beta pointed out that she thought the story needed more Draco feelings, so I hope that you like this chapter. I wrote this so fast, I was really pumped to write this. Thank you all for being so patient with me and for sticking with this story. Don't worry, there is more to come. As always: JKR owns Harry Potter.

Ginny POV:

She and Hermione double checked the room one more time to make sure that everything she needed was packed. She stuffed her new badges into her pants pocket and grabbed her trunk. Hermione gave her a smile of encouragement and she returned it nervously.

"You'll be fine." Hermione assured her as they made their way downstairs noisily. "If you have any problems, you know you have loads of people who would drop everything to help you." Ginny nodded, focusing on her trunk. They reached flat floor and she dragged her trunk over to the door before going into the kitchen. Her mum was cooking a small breakfast for them before they headed out.

"We have half an hour, any later and you will be running to make the train. Clear?" She looked around at everyone nodding their heads. "Good. Gin, Draco had to go get something, but he said he will meet us at the train station." She said, Ginny was surprised.

" You mean he is missing work just to see me off?" She asked.

"That's what it sounded like dear." Her mum responded, dishing out the food. Ginny dug in once the food hit her plate and took all of five minutes to eat.

As soon as everyone had cleared their plates, the piled into her father's car from the ministry and began the drive to the station.

"So how did it work?" George asked once the car was in motion.

"How did what work?" She asked him, a touch confused.

"The potion!" He said loudly, she could tell he had been thinking about it a lot.

"Oh, yeah it worked." She said vaguely. George looked at her, waiting. "I mean.. I got the dream I wanted. You could Harley even tell it was a dream. The smells… touch.. everything seemed too real. In a good way." She added the last part hastily.

"Well what did you dream about?" He asked.

"Erm.. Hogwarts. Uh… The feast." She said. He gave her a skeptical glance.

"Of all the things, that's what you chose?" He asked her. She nodded firmly, knowing if he looked at her straight on, he would see her blush. "Well alright…" He said, pulling out a small notebook and writing a few notes down.

"It worked fantastically George." She assured him. She turned to Hermione. "So when are you going to ask him?" She said softly. So only Hermione would hear her.

"I think I might just pluck up the courage and ask at the station, when we are on the platform." She said, her hand going into her pocket, where Ginny assumed the ring box was.

"That's perfect." She said, wrapping one arm around her friend and giving her shoulder a squeeze. Hermione returned with a weak smile. The rest of the drive passed with mindless conversation until the pulled up to the front entrance of the station. They all climbed out of the car and Ginny went to the boot of the car to grab her trunk. She went to grab the handle when a pale hand beat her to it. She looked up and smiled at Draco.

"I thought you wouldn't make it." She said.

"For you? I'd never be late." He joked. She glanced at his other hand, he held a long, rectangular box. He heaved the trunk into a trolley and set the box on top. Her family led the way into the station and they followed, bringing up the rear.

Draco POV:

As soon as he had woken up, he knew exactly what to get Ginny as a going away present. He told Molly he was going to get something, then he left.

Diagon Alley was bare, since it was the first of September, most families were busy sending children off to school. He made his way to Quidditch and More and ducked inside quickly. He strode over to the man at the counter and told him exactly what he wanted. The man enthusiastically boxed up what Draco had asked for, and he was once again on his way. He met the Weasley's at the train station and made sure to grab Ginny's trunk before she could. He had arrived just moments before them, but had time to grab a trolley.

They made their way into the station, and took turns entering Platform 9 ¾. He, Ginny and George all ran in a row at the same time, and before he knew it, he was once again looking up at the Hogwarts Express. They all gathered in a group and he and Ginny moved her trunk into her compartment and she placed the long package on the seat. He gave her a smile, she was a smart girl, she probably knew what was in it.

They made their way back to her family and they all began to say their goodbyes. In the middle of this ordeal, he saw Hermione turn to Ron and pull out a wooden box, he looked around curiously and noticed Ginny was looking at the pair with a grin plastered onto her face.

"Ron, will you do me the honor and make me your wife?" He heard her say, which was immediately followed by yells and whoops as Ron nodded and kissed her.

He looked at the family, smiling, and locked eyes with Ginny, who had tears running down her cheeks. He opened his arms slightly and she gave him a tight hug.

"I'm so happy he said yes." She said loudly, making Draco laugh. Hermione and Ron came over to them, and Ginny left his arms in favor of Hermione's. Draco grinned at Ron, who returned the smile until he remembered he didn't like Draco.

"Congratulations, you're a lucky man." Draco said, holding out his hand. Ron looked at him, then at the hand, but decided to hug Draco instead. Draco, caught off guard, took a second to return the gesture, when they broke, Ron looked at him seriously.

"Don't hurt her." He said seriously. Draco nodded solemnly.

"I won't." He said, and Ron gave a small nod. A few minutes passed, and they all heard the warning whistle from the train. Ginny gave everyone a last hug before making her way over to Draco.

"Thank-" She began, but he cut her off.

"I expect weekly letters. If anyone is being a prick to you, tell me, and Ron and I will handle it." He said, she laughed.

"Since when do you even speak to each other?" She asked. He looked over at Ron, who was watching them.

"I think we've come to a new understanding of one another." He said. Ginny eyed Ron over her shoulder before looking back at Draco and nodding.

"Okay. Weekly letters… But only if you promise to write back." She said, threateningly. He smiled at her.

"Love, I will write daily if that's what you want." He said to her, she blushed deeply and gave him a hug, The last whistle let everyone know the train was leaving, and without thinking, Draco kissed her forehead. She jumped back in surprise, and Draco stepped back as the doors started to close on the train, she jumped on, and gave him a puzzled look as the train pulled away from the platform, and everyone on it. He looked at her until the train rounded the corner and he couldn't anymore. He turned around to find Ron and Hermione hanging back from the large group that was leaving, it took him a moment to realize they were waiting for him.

"Hey mate, come to ours for dinner?" Ron asked, Draco grinned and nodded. He just knew that he would be spending a lot of this year with this family he had come to love.

They decided to ride the car back to the Borrow, the ride was silent, besides George speaking to Draco about the potion Ginny had tried.

"She wouldn't tell you what she had a dream about?" Draco asked.

"Well she did, but I don't think she was completely honest.." George said. When Draco asked why he thought that, Draco was just given a shrug in response. They rode the rest of the way in silence, and Draco dozed off.

"Hey, wake up, we're here." He felt a hand shake his shoulder and he looked at George, who was waiting for him to get out so that he could follow. He quickly slid out of the car and followed behind Hermione and Ron into the house. He stopped short when Hermione turned around right at the foot of the stairs.

"Want to come up with us?" She asked, indicating herself and Ron. Draco looked over at Ron, who gave a slight nod.

"Sure, should we ask Harry as well?" He asked, Hermione glanced over at Ron then back at Draco.

"Well… we were hoping we could just have a chat?" She asked, unsure. Draco was taken aback, unsure why they would want to speak with him alone.

"Okay…" He said hesitantly. He followed the pair upstairs and into what he assumed was Ron's bedroom. Ron and Hermione sat down on the side of one of two beds and gestured for him to sit on the bed opposite them. "Am I in trouble?" He joked, hoping to relieve some of the tension.

"Oh, no not at al.. we just.." She glanced at Ron to help her, but he just looked as uncomfortable as Draco felt. Hermione let out a sigh and looked back at Draco. "Well we wanted to talk to you about Ginny."

"What about her?" He asked, wondering where this conversation was going.

"What was in that package?" Ron piped up suddenly.

"Well.. Since she is going to be captain… I thought it might be nice if she had a new broom." Draco said. Ron's mouth fell open.

"You got her a new broom?" He asked, incredulously.

"Ronald, honestly. That was very thoughtful of you Draco." Hermione said to him. He just nodded in response. He had a feeling that's not entirely why they wanted to talk to him. There was a pregnant pause while Hermione fiddled with a string on the blanket under her.

"Draco.. We were really wondering… Well.. Do you.. you know?" Hermione asked, Draco shook his head, he entirely did not know.

"Oh bloody hell. Do you fancy my sister?" Ron said suddenly, making Hermione jump a little. Draco stared at him for a long moment before settling his eyes on the floor.

"You don't have to worry about it, I mean.. someone like her would never go for someone like me. She deserves better, and I hope she finds better." He said softly. He heard a soft intake of breath come from Hermione and he glanced over at Ron, who he expected to be upset.

"Mate, I think she doesn't want better." Ron said softly. "Well, to be honest I'm not even sure she fancies you-"

"She does, she just doesn't want to admit it." Hermione interjected. "I think you would make a lovely couple." She said, giving him a small smile. "But you have to tell her how you feel." As soon as she said it, Draco was shaking her head.

"I can't ruin what friendship we do have. I cant tell her that… I cant tell her I fancy her." He said, he stood up. "I'm sorry, but it's up to her what happens between us, I will not push it. I'm not going to chance making her unhappy." And with that, he strode out of the room and began to make his way back down the stairs to the rest of the family.

A/N: AHHHHHH He admitted it! SO exciting, and I love it. Anyway, I know my chapters have been somewhat.. lacking? as of late and I really hope this one makes it all okay. R&R! Much Loves.


	20. Chapter 19

A/N: I know, took me a little bit to get this one. It took me a while to write too. So I want to give a shoutout to **arnoldhelen1,** you have been a huge motivator for me to write this story, and I'm not fully sure why, I just really don't want to let you down. Also a quick shoutout to **Baby D-Montanagirl,** who is my newest follower, I love all of my followers, and I'm so happy that they just keep coming. Thank you **ALL.** So R &R please! JKR owns Harry Potter

Ginny POV:

The ride on the Hogwarts Express was long with nobody except Luna, not that she was boring, but Ginny had to keep leaving to do her rounds as Head Girl. Whenever she was in the carriage that they were sharing, Luna was either asleep or reading the newest edition of The Quibbler. When they were almost to the castle, Ginny entered the carriage once more to pull on her robes. Luna was finally unoccupied, and she looked up and smiled at Ginny.

"You excited?" Luna asked softly.

"A bit, this year should be interesting." Ginny said, attaching her new badges to the front of her robes. Luna nodded, and with a faraway look in her eyes, picked her copy of The Quibbler back up and began to read it again.

Ginny felt the train begin to slow down, and with a goodbye to Luna, made her way to the door leading to the Prefect's compartment, they would be the first one's out of the train to help the other students get to where they need to go. The train came to a stop and Ginny hopped off the train, the students came out in throngs, and Ginny walked with the head boy in front of the students above year one, leading them into the Great Hall. A little while later, the small group of year ones made their way into the hall behind Professor McGonagall. The small group was sorted into the four houses. Ginny looked around, there was almost no Slytherins at their table. She frowned a little, how many were like Draco? Good, but scared the world would hate them. She shook her head and turned back to her own house's table. Their table, out of all four, had the most people at it. Some were still scared that people out there would try to hurt the children, especially since Dumbledore was gone.

Dinner seemed to pass quickly and quietly after McGonagall made a short speech. Too fast, in Ginny's opinion. Soon enough, she was leading the Gryffindor students up to their common room.

"Okay everyone, the password for the common room for the moment is Albus." And at the last word, the portrait hole opened, and students began to pile in. Ginny entered the room after the other students, and then she told the first years where to find their dormitories while some of the older students sat down next to the fire to warm up before bed.

"Okay everyone," Ginny called out to the room, "tomorrow is first day of classes, be down to breakfast no later than seven to get your schedules." She got some grumbling in return, but she knew everyone would be there. She smiled a little, happy to be back. She made her way up to her room, now that she was Head Girl, she got her own personal dorm. She entered and saw the package Draco had given her laying on the bed. She walked over and pulled it onto her lap as she sat down. She carefully removed the lid of the box and pulled back the tissue paper, she gasped and let her hands grasp the wooden handle of the broom. It was a beautifully polished new broom, the likes of which she had never owned. She smiled, she was going to kick ass in Quidditch. She spent a few minutes admiring everything about the broom.

She stood and rummaged through her trunk, pulling out a quill, ink, and parchment. She sat down at the desk in the corner of the room, and began to write.

 _Draco,_

 _The broom is beautiful. Thank you so much. But really, it's a bit much, isn't it? Anyway, first night back, it's so quiet though. Everyone seems so.. somber? I don't know if that's the right word. Slytherin is so bare… It has the least number of students out of any house. Tomorrow should be interesting enough, first day of classes? And I also have my first round of patrols tomorrow night. Not sure what else to say. I'll write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

She let the paper dry, the folded it and set it to the side. She would wake up early tomorrow and send it. She yawned, and glanced at her watch, she hadn't realized how late it was. She changed out of her robes and into some old pajamas, then climbed into bed. She fell asleep wondering how the next day would go.

Draco POV:

He was happy to get her letter, It didn't arrive until lunch that day, but it gave him something to do over lunch. He already missed her being around, not that he was going to tell anyone that.

 _Ginny,_

 _I hope you had a decent first day back. Of course the Slytherin's would be gone. Most of their parent's are either dead or don't want their children to go back. It's already odd for you to be gone from the Manor, the elves miss you. They made too much food this morning, I think they forgot you went back to school._

 _I'm glad you approve the broom, I thought since you are the new captain, you should have a halfway decent broom. You're a good flyer, and I think that a new broom will just further your skill. Write soon._

 _Draco_

He had been invited to The Burrow for dinner again that night, but he thought that the Weasley's would probably enjoy a meal alone since Ginny left. He wanted to go, but at the same time, he was worried he would miss Ginny even more being surrounded by her family.

He stayed late at the office that night, not really looking forward to going back to the Manor alone. He had realized when he went home last night, his house was too big. And with him being the only person in the house, it seemed very sinister and quiet. He had been irritable all day at work, and his assistant stopped coming into his office eventually. By the end of the day, she was sending him his memos by making them fly like airplanes into his office. He stood up to leave, gathering up the few papers he had left to fill out. He glanced outside to the hallway, the lights were off, and he knew the door downstairs would be closed and locked. He would have to just apparate home from his office. He turned on his heel, and after a moment of feeling as though he was being pulled and pushed at the same time, he landed on the lane leading up to Malfoy Manor. He sighed and made his way into the house. He set the letter he had gotten from Ginny on the table and handed the letter for her to the elf that greeted him right inside.

"Send it to Ginny please?" Draco asked. The small elf nodded quickly ad disappeared with a pop.

He walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table, an elf immediately brought him food and he began to eat. He thought about Ginny while he ate. He was wondering what would have happened if she had decided to stay and work for him. He didn't even know what she wanted to do after school. She probably didn't want to be a security guard. He imagined that she would make a good professional Quidditch player. He smiled at the thought, she was a force to be reckoned with, she would make one hell of a player. He set his fork down with a sigh, he wasn't even hungry. He made his way up to his bedroom, wishing that Ginny was here to joke with him, make fun of him. He felt a knot forming in his stomach as he began to get ready for bed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, which only helped marginally. He had never felt this before, he thought he was just feeling sorry for himself that he was alone, he laid himself down in bed, and closed his eyes, trying to will himself to fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity, he passed into sleep while thinking of his new friend, and old roommate.

A/N: Alright, lay it on me, what did y'all think? I know it's not that long, I think next time ill do two weeks in one chapter... Idk. Tell me what you think! Much Loves!


	21. Chapter 20

A/N: i'm so excited, I have been getting an overwhelming amount of support for this story, and I am so happy. It excites me every time i get an email that says there's a new review. I want to thank everyone who has been following this story so far. And no, I have no clue how far I want this story to go, but I will say It will be like this for at least a couple more chapters. As always, JKR owns Harry Potter. R&R!

-About a month into being at Hogwarts-

Ginny POV:

The days passed quickly, and Ginny wasn't sure if she liked that or not. She loved the new Hogwarts, being Head Girl was a bit stressful, but soon enough she would be back to the Quidditch pitch. Flying always seemed to ease her mind, make her calm. She was really looking forward to making her team. She had just posted yesterday, Wednesday, that tryouts would be the next Monday, and she had been bombarded with questions that afternoon during lunch. Yes, the entire team needed to be rebuilt, and YES every positon was open. She knew she could play seeker or chaser, but before she placed herself, she wanted to find out if anyone was better than her.

She set down the essay she was reading over, she knew it was fine, but she was bored. She sat looking at the flames in the fire before smiling. She would just write to Draco, that would take up some time. She grabbed a blank piece of parchment and her quill and set to it.

Draco,

Its so boring. The classwork seems.. tame. I thought, after what we've all seen and been through, that the professors wouldn't shy away from showing and teaching us some more advanced magic. But, I guess for those same reasons, they want to keep this year quite uneventful.

The first Hogsmede weekend was last weekend, my first butterbeer in ages. The only place that seemed to have any life was Zonko's. Speaking of, have you spoken to George? I know you didn't go to dinner for a couple weeks, but I think he misses you, I really do think he needs a friend right now. I don't know why you haven't been going, I haven't asked you in my last few letters, but I think you should go. I think it would be good for you too. But I won't tell you what to do. It's getting late and I should send this, so that's all for this letter.

Love,

Ginny

P.S. It's okay that I'm not there Draco, you'll be fine. They practically think of you as family. Just go, and then you can write and tell me all about it.

She stood up and exited the common room, she had patrols that night, so she knew that she wouldn't get in trouble for going to the owlry passed curfew. The curfew was sunset now, not a specific time. She made her way outside, into the crisp autumn air, and walked across the grass to the steps of the owlry. She made her way up and called to the first bird she saw, tying the short letter to it's leg and sending it off. She took a moment and looked out the open doorway to the castle and the sun setting behind it. She sighed and leaned on the stone wall that kept people from falling of the stairs.

She loved this time of day, she knew that right about now, Draco would be getting off of work, and by tomorrow morning, his letter would be in his hands. She smiled at the though of him reading her words, his platinum hair would fall over his eyes and she knew his lips would move slightly with every word. Thinking about his lips lead her back to that dream she had about him, it felt more like a memory than anything else, she started to wonder what his lips would feel like… She brought a fingertip to her own lips and traced them. Behind her, an owl let out a hoot and she shook herself out of her thoughts. She felt her heart racing and took a deep breath. She needed to stop thinking like that. She quickly made her way down the steps and back into the dark castle where she began to patrol, looking forward to going to sleep in a few short hours.

After she had gotten to school, she had asked George to send her some of that potion, she would tell him about the long term effects, if any. At the moment, there wasn't any. She slept better after having taken the potion though, she felt far more rested the next day. But she knew that she couldn't take it every night. She had taken it once more since getting to Hogwarts, but she had made that dream about flying, about winning the House Cup at the end of the year. It had been an interesting dream, to say the least. But she wanted another dream about.. him. She knew they couldn't be like that in real life, they were friends, but a girl can dream, right? That's all they were, dreams. She still wasn't sure how she really felt about him. Though Hermione made it very clear in her letters that she thought Ginny had feelings for him. She tended to ignore those parts and her heart pounding in her chest when she saw those words. That pounding meant nothing, she reminded herself as she wound her way through a dark corridor, wand illuminated in front of her to guide the way. If anything, it was a silly crush that she was sure would vanish soon. She shook her head once more, she needed to concentrate.

She rounded the next corner and came upon a girl and boy snogging in the hallway. She cleared her throat loudly, making them jump apart. They both looked at her nervously, the girl's eyes were wide with embarrassment and the boy had a grin on his face. She took a look at their robes, which were rumpled up. She was glad she came when she did.

"Five points from both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Now both of you go to bed, I will know if you haven't." They both nodded and headed in separate directions, Ginny stood there for a moment before pulling out Harry's old map. Once she was satisfied they weren't meeting up again, she folded it up and stuck it in her robes. She would be heading to bed soon as well. This thought was interrupted with a yawn. She smiled and slowly made her way back to Gryffindor tower.

Draco POV:

It was Friday, he realized with a groan as he woke up. Molly Weasley had made it a point to send him a letter every Friday and remind him about dinner the next day. As if on cue, a house elf popped into his room with a breakfast tray that had a letter on it. He thanked the elf and sent her away, he picked up the letter and noticed the second one under it. His eyebrows flicked up in surprise before he opened the top one. It was from Molly, he set it to the side and picked up the second one, his heart seemed to skip a beat as he saw the writing, Ginny. He smiled as he read the letter, which was shorter than the last one, she had detailed the second dream under George's new potion for him. He had written back and told her that he had tried it, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to share his dream just yet.

He ate his breakfast quickly and then proceeded to get a piece of parchment and a quill to write her back.

Ginny,

Fine. I'll go. But not because of you, I just miss good food. A lot. The guy that replaced you at work is a dunce, he doesn't hold a candle to you. He is having problems getting the charms right, I really think I am going to have to find someone else. I don't want to fire him though, maybe I can just find a different place for him to work. I have been working late a lot, business is great.

I am sorry for the classes being so boring love. A woman like you needs excitement, something to keep you on your toes. And I do apologize that school isn't giving you that. It makes sense though, unfortunately, For the past 6 years there hasn't been a quiet year, I'm sure that they just want one. I know I do. I'm sure you're excited to fly again though, hopefully that'll liven things up a bit. I will write you tomorrow night and let you know how dinner went, and how George really is, I know you worry about him the most. Write soon.

Draco

He folded the letter and sent it off immediately. He really missed not having Ginny around…

Dinner the next night was wonderful. He had written back to Molly and let her know that he would be there, and when he arrived he had smelled his favorite food cooking. Molly had gotten to know him so well over such a short amount of time. He had done what Ginny asked, made sure that George was doing alright, he seemed to be delighted that Draco had joined them for dinner and he made sure to talk to Draco for the rest of the night. However, the night seemed to come to a close too soon and before he knew it, people were leaving and heading to bed. He was pulling on his jacket when he heard someone behind him, he turned around and there stood Hermione and Ron.

"Fancy a drink mate? Hermione and I are going for one." Ron said to him while grabbing his own jacket. Draco thought for a moment, which was too long for Ron apparently. " Come on, it's Saturday night, it'll be fun." He said. Hermione gave Draco an encouraging nod. He rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Fine, I'll go" He said. Ron gave a slight whoop and then grabbed Draco's arm before spinning on the spot. Draco did a check to make sure he hadn't just splinched but then followed Ron and Hermione into the pub they had landed near. They made there way inside, which was crowded and Draco ordered them some glasses of firewhiskey. They began to drink.

"So.. have you been talking to Ginny?" Hermione asked a little while later. Her words slurred just the smallest amount. Draco squinted at her then nodded.

"Yeah, we talk. A letter a week." He pulled the letter he had gotten yesterday out of his pocket. "I miss her you know." He said, all inhibitions gone. Hermione nodded solemnly.

"I know.. I know you do. She's… she's.. special. Isn't she?" She asked, as Ron can stumbling back with more drinks. Draco nodded. He picked up another drink, and inspired, lifted it high.

"To Ginny, a fiery redhead who can steal a heart without knowing it!" He cried out, this proclamation was met with cheers around the pub, as strangers also raised their glasses. Someone began to sing, and the rest of the evening passed with more drinks, and songs about love long lost.

Draco awoke the next morning with a horrendous headache. He made his way slowly downstairs and into the kitchen. He asked Clank to make him a cup of tea, she nodded and made her way to the stove.

"Would master like if Clank made the guests some tea as well?" She asked as he yawned. He snapped his head to look at her, suddenly wide awake.

"What guests?" He asked.

"They are sleeping in the sitting room sir, Clank asked if master would like them in a guest room, but then master was asleep before he could answer." He stood and went straight to the sitting room, where Ron and Hermione were each asleep on a couch. He shook the each awake and asked if they would like some tea, might as well offer, he thought. They followed him into the kitchen just as Clank was pouring a cup for Draco. Seeing the other two, she summoned more cups and gave one to each of their guests. They sat down at the kitchen table quietly. Ron was looking around, wide eyed at what was around him.

"What in the world did we do last night?" He asked, Draco tried to recall what had happened, but shrugged, not really remembering anything. They both looked at Hermione, who was staring at Draco. "Herm?" Ron said softly, glancing over at Draco, trying to figure out why she was staring at him. She waved him away and looked very seriously at Draco.

"You love her." She said, it wasn't a question.

A/N: OH btw, I bought a first printing, UK edition of Tales of Beedle the Bard! Very excited to get it in the mail. Thank yall again for Reading! Much Loves!


	22. Chapter 21

A/N: So, new chapter :) this one is a little slow, i think. BUT only a couple more chapters and things should get... interesting... again :) Enjoy! R&R please.

Draco POV:

Ever since that night, Hermione had been harping on him to tell Ginny how he felt.

"If it was the other way around-"

"Iv'e told you, I'm not going to tell her. It bothers me that you even know, and you won't let it be." Draco said. They were sitting in his office, she had come to his work to discuss business, and this is what the conversation went to. He sighed, sat back in his chair, and ran one hand through his hair.

"Well maybe I would stop bothering you if you just admitted that you love her." Hermione said, and Draco shook his head.

"Nothing to admit." He said shortly.

"Draco Malfoy, you can lie to everyone else, not even Ron thinks I'm right, but I know better. I've seen how you look at her, how you look when you talk about her. You wont even say you miss her unless you're drunk!" Hermione said, he could tell she was frustrated.

"Hermione." He leaned forward and placed his hands on his desk. "I say anything, and I lose everything with Ginny. We are friends, nothing more. Yeah, I care about her, enough to know that a woman like her deserves the best. That's all I have to say on the matter." He said, Hermione glared at him, and he raised his eyebrows. She let out a huff of breath.

"Fine. So.. If anything were to happen between the two of you, Ginny would have to start it then?" Hermione asked him. He sighed and relented a single, curt nod.

He sighed the paperwork she needed to be signed and handed them back to her without another word about Ginny. She thanked him, and left his office with just a small smile back at him. He shook his head and pulled some more paperwork to him. He stared at the top page, but couldn't seem to focus on what it was. After some time of trying over and over to read the page, he set it down. It was no use, he wouldn't be able to focus now. He looked over at the clock on the wall and seeing that it was nearing closing, he began to gather his things so that he could head home for the night. He ended up walking out with his employees that night. When he got home, he was greeted with tea and a light dinner. He ate quickly, then he decided to write a letter to Ginny.

 _Ginny,_

 _Glad to hear that the team is shaping up good, and that the broom is working well with you. Your first game is this weekend, right? Well good luck, I know you'll do brilliantly, but since it is against my house I can't very well hope you catch the snitch first can I?_

 _Yes, George is doing well, you don't have to ask every letter. If I think something is wrong with him, you will be the first to know. I promise. Is school still doing alright? You haven't mentioned anything in the last couple weeks. Or is it so boring that it's not worth putting down? Hermione came and saw me at work today, she needed me to sign some papers, Ron and her have been planning the wedding, and apparently they just needed a small loan for something. Well, It's late, I should be heading to bed. Write soon love._

 _Draco_

He sent off the letter immediately. He loved writing to her, he didn't even think as he wrote, he just let the words fall on the page as though they were sitting in the same room having a chat. He smiled to himself and changed into his pajamas. He had a meeting in the morning, and now that he had written the letter to Ginny, he would be able to sleep.

Ginny POV:

She stared at the letter in her hands. She had woken up early to fly some when an owl met her in the air and had given her the latest letter from Draco. Her eyes kept going back to the last word before his name. Love. He had called her that before, but she had just passed it off as him being friendly. It's not as though it was uncommon for an English man to call a woman love. But as she was flying, it occurred to her, what if he meant it in a different way. He had kissed her forehead when she left, that wasn't something a lot of people did to their friends.

Looking up, she saw the sun was much higher than when she had come outside. She let the heat of the sun rest on her face for just a moment before looking at her watch, if she wanted to eat anything she would have to get going. She took her broom back to solid ground right next to the lockers. She put her broom away and made her way to the great hall. It was filled with students, eating right before class started. She happened to have an open period next, but the didn't serve breakfast after the morning bell that signaled the start of classes.

She had a small breakfast of eggs and toast before heading to Gryffindor tower. She would write Draco back and study a bit before her first class. When she got up to the tower, she was greeted with an empty common room and a warm fire still in the fireplace. She sat down in the chair closest to the fire, the morning had been crisp and she was still a tad cold, the fire warmed her quickly and she soon pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

 _Draco,_

 _Thank you for keeping an eye on George for me. I know you like him the most out of my brothers, and he likes you too, so I like to know that someone is there to make sure he's alright. So I will stop asking so much._

 _Thank you for the luck, but Gryffindor is the best team by far this year, its hardly fun. Joking, of course, its always fun to play Quidditch._

 _School is still boring, so no, nothing to write home about. Also, what in the world might those two be planning that they need a loan? They can't be planning something that extravagant. Bill and Fleur didn't even need a loan, although I suppose they had Fleur's parents to help out… I hear that they might do a ball for Christmas, like the Yule ball? Just kind of a tradition the staff wants to start apparently. Of course Nickoli and I would be the first to know, since we're head boy and girl. The Headmistress wants our opinion. I think it could be fun, what do you think, is that something that would have been fun if they did that every year? Maybe it would be more fun if it was every other year? I don't know. Anyway, I should go, I have some studying to do._

She stared at the page before signing her name, she always signed it _'Love Ginny'_ but her thoughts earlier, how he called her love, she didn't know what he meant when he said that. With a sigh, she signed the bottom of her page with just her name. She would hold off on signing it _'Love'_ until she figured out what was going on. She had thought about asking him in the letter, but it would have been awkward. What would she have said? She wanted a straight answer, and on paper, it was just to easy to fabricate lies. She rolled up the paper, she would send it at lunch.

Grabbing some of her books, she immersed herself into studying. She never knew what Hermione had meant when she said that studying made her calm, but now, with all her thoughts swirling around one little word, she finally understood. Reading the pages, making notes, was actually calming her down. That is, until the bell rang out and she had to pack her things and get to class. She grabbed her back and made her way quickly through the castle. She then realized that she had left the letter to Draco on the table. She cast a summoning spell and it came speeding to her through the air. She snatched it, and tucked it into her bag.

Ginny missed actually talking to him, she mused as she approached her classroom. Sometimes, when she thought about him, she swore her chest physically hurt. She had never really felt anything like that, it was new for her. She had learned to distract herself with something else when she felt like that. If she dwelt on it, she would get homesick, she would miss her family. She couldn't wait for school to end, she wanted to be back with her family and her best friend. She froze, that was the first time that she had thought of him as her best friend. She put a small smile on her face and entered the class, she liked that he was her best friend. Though the description felt just slightly off.

A/N: So what did you think? Like I said, I do think it's a little slow... So go easy, I am fully aware. Much Love.


	23. Chapter 22

A/N: So, another short one. BUT i heard yall, Ginny was being slow, she needs to figure her crap out. So i tried to lead into that with this chapter. I also skipped quite a bit of time, but I feel like since they're away from eachother, that's okay. let's say that the date for this chapter is... Friday Nov. 20, 1998. And just so everyone knows, the ball will take place on Dec. 18th and the next day the students will go home for Christmas break. (yes, i looked at the calendar from that year to figure that out.) Anyway, enjoy the chapter. R&R! JKR owns HP

Ginny POV:

Before they even knew it, the Christmas ball was only a month away. She had been working hard on the preparations for it. The staff had decided that the seventh years would be allowed to invite someone outside of the school, and Ginny was thinking of asking Draco. She really missed him, she was writing him multiple times a week now, and she had also been writing Hermione quite a bit.

Hermione had been giving Ginny some good advice about school, and Draco. Ginny had told Hermione last week that maybe, just maybe she liked Draco. She had caught herself doodling absentmindedly on a piece of paper the other day, and she had drawn a cute little snake, who she automatically knew was supposed to be Draco. She had thrown the paper away immediately, blushing brightly. Hermione had the idea of asking Draco to the ball, and Ginny had tossed the idea aside at first, but now, she thought that maybe it was a good time to figure out exactly what she felt for him.

Ginny took a deep breath and looked outside, they had called off quidditch practice tonight because of finals coming up, but she had studied so much already, she was just sitting in the library staring out the window. She took a look around the desk she was sitting at, and pulled a blank piece of parchment toward her. If she thought about it any more, she would never ask him to come.

 _Draco,_

 _Hey, so remember that ball that we've been talking about? Well there's a small bit that I kinda left out.. Seventh year students have been given the ok to ask someone out of school to the ball. Well, you had so many great ideas for this thing, would you want to come? I think it would be fun. Just.. write me and let me know if you want to, its in a month, so you have time to think about it if you need to. I just need to know so that if you want to come they can set up the floo to your house. Write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

She read over the letter again, it was short, but she wasn't sure what else she would have said. She looked over that word that had grieved her so much, love. She had thought about it so much, but she had come to the conclusion that either way, she couldn't let it bother her anymore. Draco had started asking if she was okay after she had sent him the first letter without her signing it with love. She stood up and collected her things so that she could go to the owlry before it got dark. She had patrols again that night and now that it was winter, the owlry steps froze very quickly at night. She mad her way out of the castle, wrapping her scarf around the bottom of her face to try to keep herself warm.

She ran into a couple students on her way, and ushered them to make their way back into the castle quickly. She sent the letter quickly and slipped only once on her way back down the stairs. As she was entering the castle, she took her scarf off and tucked it into her bookbag, she glanced inside the Great Hall and let the students inside know that they needed to clean up and go to their common rooms. She got a few affirmations and started to walk through the castle. She didn't run into any students in the hours she was walking, and decided to go to bed. She curled up under a special blanket from her mum, her room got pretty cold at night. She thought about the start of school that year, how she had been homesick, and how she had dreamt about Draco with the potion George had made. She really did miss Draco, and even without the potion, she dreamed about him a lot. She fell asleep that night with a small smile on her face.

Draco POV:

He couldn't stop reading over her latest letter. She had asked him to come to the Christmas ball. He kept asking himself if she was asking him to come as a friend.. or maybe it was as a date? He had another meeting with Hermione that day to go over her and Ron's finances before the wedding they had planned for two days after Christmas. He should just ask her what she thought. He nodded to himself, that was a good idea.

He gathered his things for the office that day and apparated into his office. His assistant came into the room and read over the plans for that day. He looked at his watch, he had four hours before the meeting with Hermione, he needed to make himself busy. He went downstairs and talked with each of his employees about what was going on. That killed two hours, he killed the next couple with menial paperwork.

Thankfully, those four hours passed quickly and he found himself sitting across his desk from Hermione. Ginny's letter was in her hand, and she was reading it for the third time. He drummed his fingers on the desk. He let out a loud breath and Hermione looked up at him. She set down the paper and let out a soft sight.

"I don't know." She said after a moment. She gave a shrug.

"What do you mean? I thought that you were her best friend?" Draco asked her. "Is it a date? Or does she just want to go as friends. Is this her taking the next step?"

"I really don't know, we really aren't as close as we were before. She writes me a bit, but I'm not so sure I am her best friend anymore." Hermione gave him a pointed look. He stared at her, eyes wide.

"Me? Really? You think that I'm her best friend?" Draco asked, and Hermione nodded her head. A small smile cracked onto her face. He let out a single laugh and grabbed the letter. "You think I should go?" He asked her, and then it was her turn to smile.

" I think it's a brilliant idea." She stated. Draco nodded. "Now can we get to business?" She asked him, gesturing to the folder she had brought with her. Draco took a look at it and let out a heavy sigh. He had his work cut out for him.

He ended up having to cancel his last few clients to finish up with Hermione, and it took the rest of the day. By the time they were done though, both were satisfied with the work they had done. They said their goodbyes and Draco confirmed the fact that he would be at the Burrow the next day for dinner. Hermione left his office and Draco closed up.

When he got home, he ate his dinner quickly so that he could write back to Ginny. He wasn't sure how he was going to respond yet, but he had an idea. He made his way up to his room and sat down I his desk chair. He pulled a small piece of parchment to him and picked up his quill with a grin. He knew _exactly_ what to say.

Ginny POV:

She was awoken the next morning by a tapping on her window, she opened her eyes slowly and was greeted by the sight of an owl. She stood up and yawned, it was still early and since she had patrols the night before she hadn't gotten enough sleep. She opened the window just enough for the bird to come inside and it dropped a letter on her desk before flying back into the cool morning.

She made her way to her desk chair and grabbed the letter. She would read it then go to back to bed, it was Saturday and she planned on sleeping as much as she could. She read the letter and suddenly felt wide awake, and somewhat giddy. It was a letter from Draco, with his answer about the ball. She put the letter down on the desk and smiled, leaning back in her chair. He would be coming to the ball. She stood up and left her room, leaving the letter open on her desk.

 _Ginny,_

 _It's a date. Write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Draco_

A/N: Okay, big moment with Draco signing his letter with Love, in case nobody caught onto that. Write soon :) Much Loves.


	24. Chapter 23

A/N: Sorry, been down with the flu for these past few days, I've been sleeping a lot. Hope you enjoy this chapter! R&R! Rowling owns Harry Potter! Okayyyyy? Thanks :)

Ginny POV:

She was very flustered the following weeks leading up to the ball, now that she knew Draco was coming, she was working more than ever to make sure that everything went off without a hitch. Today however, was the last Hogsmeade weekend day before the ball, and Ginny had to go get a new dress. She finished her breakfast, and then grabbed a to go mug to take some hot chocolate with her.

She had spent most of the year studying by herself and focusing on Quidditch, she hadn't really hung out with any of her friends from before the war, but she had decided that for this excursion, she needed females, so she had invited Luna. After trying to think about who else to invite, she realized that she didn't know many other people, and had decided that Luna was the only one she was going to have with her, which was fine. Luna, who was sweet, would probably tell her quite honestly what she thought would look nice.

Ginny met her at the walkway leading into Hogsmeade, and they walked through the light layer of snow into the small town. They talked a little about the ball as they walked and soon enough, the conversation turned to dates.

"So, I heard you're bringing Draco Malfoy?" Luna asked Ginny softly. Ginny glanced over, she didn't realize anyone knew.

"Where did you hear that from?" Ginny asked as they turned down a side street to the dress shop. They stopped in front of the shop and finished the drinks in their hands.

"I heard it from Hermione, she writes to me sometimes." She said nonchalantly. Ginny nodded a small bit as she finished her cup and tossed it in the trashcan. Luna followed suit and they walked together into the store. They were greeted with a blast of warmth and a smile from the middle-aged witch behind the counter. Luna and Ginny immediately began to rifle through the gowns.

It didn't take very long for Luna to find a long silvery purple dress that seemed to fit her perfectly. Ginny only had to encourage her a little bit before she bought it. Ginny continued to look through the dresses, making small chat with Luna.

"So, who are you going with?" Ginny asked her. Luna shrugged, leading Ginny to stare for a moment.

"What?" Luna asked. Ginny raised her eyebrows and shook her head.

"Nothing really, I just didn't think you would go without Neville." Ginny said as she pulled a dress from the rack. It was perfect. It was a green and gold dress, one that would match her hair perfectly but she was sure Draco would also love it because it had green on it. She held it up, showing Luna, and the other girl clasped her hands together.

"Oh Ginny, that dress is perfect." Luna said softly. "Go try it on." She shooed Ginny toward the changing rooms. Ginny came back out of the room a few minutes later wearing the lengthy dress and did a quick turn in front of the mirror. Luna nodded her head.

"You have to buy it. That's the one." Luna said, and Ginny couldn't help but agree. She changed back into her normal clothes and set the dress on the front counter. The witch rung her up and Ginny handed over the money that she had. They all exchanged pleasantries and the two young witches left the store together, purchases in hand.

They decided to forgo any other activities in Hogsmeade and head straight up to the castle. They ate lunch together then made their ways to their separate houses. Ginny hung her dress in the closet and decided to write Draco and let him know that she finally got her dress. The ball was this Friday, and Draco had been harping on her to get her dress.

 _Draco,_

 _Got my dress. Its green and gold, I hope those colors are okay, because I'm not going to change them. Anyway, don't forget that the Ball starts at 7, and come hungry! There is a feast before, so really, don't eat anything beforehand._

 _I forgot, you did get your dress robes, right? I think you mentioned that you did, so I don't have to worry about you not being ready. Not that I would ever have to worry about you not being ready for something, would I? And mum wants me to ask if you are gonna just stay here that night and come to the Burrow with me on Saturday? Let me know. Wish me luck on my last few exams, okay? I have to run, Head Girl stuff. Write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

She went to the owlry before she had to get to business, and sent her letter using a rather large owl that landed next to her head as she looked around. She watched the bird fly off into the already darkening sky, it was getting darker earlier now. She walked back down to the castle and thought about the reply she was sure to be getting by breakfast tomorrow.

Draco POV:

He was getting ready for bed when he got an owl, well he actually got two. One was from Molly, thanking him for bringing some drinks for dinner the night before, and the second was from the other Weasley woman in his life. Ginny had been working very hard on the upcoming ball, and he was always very happy to hear from her. Her letters had gone back down to once a week once this ball thing started, and he really did miss hearing from her.

He unrolled the piece of parchment she had written on and began to read it. He smiled a little bit, imagining her actually saying the words she had written down. He set the letter down and looked at the wall behind his desk. He sat like that for a moment before he remembered the necklace he was going to give her, but had changed his mind. He rummaged through his drawers a little before pulling out the small package. He unfolded it and held the necklace in his hands, staring at it.

He knew he wanted to give it to her, but he wasn't sure when he should. He was thinking about giving it to her for Christmas, but he thought that maybe if she opened that in front of her family it might be a bit much. He looked back at the letter, thinking. He smiled when it hit him. He should give it to her for the ball. By the sound of it, it would match her dress just fine.

He needed to write her back, he always tried to write her back immediately. He had gotten lucky one week and had gotten a letter a day, and since then, he was always hopeful that if he wrote back on time that she would do that again.

 _Ginny,_

 _Sounds awesome, I think that dress will look amazing. And yes, of course I have dress robes already. I had them ready last week, remember? I forgive you for forgetting though, it sounds like you've been very busy. I can't wait to see you again. And yeah, you can tell Molly that I will come straight to the Burrow with you, you should've seen dinner last night._

 _Molly had me bring drinks to celebrate George opening the new shop and he just got absolutely sloshed. He ended up falling asleep in the pudding and we had to move him into the living room so that he could sleep. And hey, good luck on your exams, I'm sure you'll be brilliant. I am really tired, so I'm going to go to sleep. Write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Draco_

He really was looking forward to going to this ball, he was thinking as he sent his new letter through the window with the owl he had owned since he was a boy. He lay down in his bed and closed his eyes, thinking about Ginny and imagining seeing her again. He fell asleep with a small smile on his face, he really hoped he would dream about her tonight.

A/N: So how was it? I think its longer than the last couple chapters, Draco's part wasn't that long, but I mean, I really loved Ginny's part and I felt like that was more important. Much loves! -Bookworm


	25. Chapter 24

A/N: I think that this is the best chapter yet. I REALLY hope that you like this. I loved writing it. R&R! JRK owns Harry Potter and all related characters!

Ginny POV:

She was getting nervous for that night. She and the staff had been working very hard for tonight, she felt that this was a very big deal. She knew that a lot of students were really looking forward to tonight, finals had been over for two days and the rest of the students had been buzzing in anticipation for tonight. To hear so many people talk about the ball, made her even more nervous that tonight something would go wrong.

She had just finished packing her trunk to leave tomorrow morning to go back to the Burrow, and was heading to the Great Hall to get something to eat. She stepped inside the huge doors and took a look around.

Huge conifer trees lined the walls, covered in ornaments, tinsel, and icicles that were charmed to not melt, which was a relief. She would have loathed cleaning up water puddles all over the Hall. As her eyes roamed the hall, she passed over the tables of the four houses. She did a double take at the Slytherin table, there was a familiar head of blond hair that she saw. Her mouth fell open, Draco Malfoy was sitting at the table. She pinched herself, making sure that she wasn't dreaming. It hurt. She slowly made her way over to the table, maybe someone was messing with her, or she was seeing things. The ball wasn't until tonight, he wasn't supposed to be here until tonight. She came up next to the person who was sitting tall at the table over a plate of food.

"Draco?" She said, still unable to believe that he was really here. He turned to look at her and was met with a broad smile showing pearly white teeth.

"Hey there love." He said, and she flung her arms around his neck. He was warm, she noted as her bare forearms touched his neck.

"When did you get here? I thought that you were going to get her just before the feast?" She said, pulling her arms off him and sliding onto the bench next to him.

"Well I talked with Professor McGonagall, and she said that you've been working so hard, and she said that you could use a break. I asked if I could come early and she thought that it was a good idea. Told work I was going to take a break for a couple days, and here I am." He finished speaking and continued to eat.

"That's brilliant!" Ginny said, grinning. He smiled at her. She grabbed a plate and put some food on it, ignoring the stares that were coming from the students that were trickling into the Great Hall.

"So what would you like to do today?" Draco asked her as he finished his food. Ginny replied with a shrug.

"I don't know, there's not much in the way of the ball anymore, and since there aren't any classes today, there isn't much to do at all." She said, taking a pause between bites.

"We could go fly?" Draco suggested, getting a look from Ginny that shot down his idea. "Yeah, I didn't think so." He said, and Ginny nodded. She finished her food quickly and they sat in silence at the table, thinking.

"Well… We could take a walk down to the lake? Just to think a bit more about what we could do?" Draco shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah, that works." He smiled and grabbed a scarf from next to him that Ginny hadn't noticed. They stood at the same time and walked out of the castle together. They stepped outside into the cold air, and a light layer of snow crunched under their feet. They made the walk to the lake, being careful to avoid any ice on the ground. The came to the bank of the lake, which had a thin layer of ice over it, the dark water still visible. The middle of the lake was not yet frozen, and for a second they saw a large tentacle come out of the water.

"Huh, so… there is a Giant Squid…" Draco said, raising his eyebrows.

"Really? You didn't believe that he was real?" Ginny said, looking over at him, and he shook his head.

"No, not really." He said, shrugging his shoulders. Ginny laughed lightly and bumped his arm with her elbow. He smiled and looked at her, they locked eyes for a moment before Ginny looked away, blushing deeply. Draco let out a soft hum on accident, and Ginny looked back up at his face.

"What?" Ginny asked, and Draco shook his head, looking back at the dark water in front of them. Ginny shivered a little, and crossed her arms in front of her. She felt an arm go around her shoulders, and smiled. She leaned into the tall man next to her, and the arm squeezed her gently. She felt comfortable standing like this, and if it wasn't so cold outside, she thought, she would be able to stay like this forever. She glanced at the face of the man next to her, he was looking at the icy lake in front of them. He looked down at her face and leaned down, placing his chin on her hair. She smiled and placed one arm around his waist.

"It's good to see you." Ginny said, and she felt him nod. She began to shiver more in earnest and she nodded when Draco suggested that they head inside for something warm to drink.

Draco POV:

They spent the rest of the day drinking hot chocolate in the library talking and playing chess. Before they knew it, Ginny left to go get ready for the ball. Even though there was to be a feast before the ball, everyone was going to wear their ball clothes to it. Draco picked up a book, he had a while before he needed to get ready. He wondered silently to himself why women needed so long to get ready for things.

He got odd looks from the few students that passed through the library, and he meet each look with an even stare of his own. Eventually, he stood up with a sigh and snapped his book shut, he was tired of people looking at him.

He strode out of the library and made his way to the Headmistress' office, she had agreed to let him stow his dress robes in her office so that he could stay the day. He got dressed quickly in the private bathroom and brushed his teeth and hair. He flashed himself a grin in the mirror, he was actually excited for this thing. Ginny had worked very hard on everything, and he was already proud of her.

He made his way to the doors outside of the Great Hall, where he and Ginny had agreed earlier he should meet her. He watched students walk into the Great Hall, the buzz of conversation slowly becoming louder. Eventually, he saw Ginny making her way down the stairs.

He felt his heart skip a beat in his chest, and his breath got caught in his throat. He saw her smile at him, and he was suddenly conscious that his mouth was open in a small 'o', he snapped his mouth shut and instead turned the corners of his mouth up into a smile.

"You look…" He couldn't seem to find the right word, and he knew that he was taking too long when Ginny's eyebrows raised slowly and her smile faltered a little. "Stunning." Draco said finally, and Ginny laughed.

"And you look alright too." Ginny said, making a gesture toward the Great Hall. "Should we go inside?" She asked, and Draco offered her his arm in response. She slid her hand into the crook he made and they walked together into the Great Hall.

It looked amazing, he thought as he looked around. Everything looked perfect, and he knew that this was the hard work of the woman on his arm, he looked over at her and noticed that she was watching him for a reaction.

"It looks great." He said, as they found their seats. They sat down next to Luna and Neville, who each gave him a nod and then struck up conversation with Ginny. She turned back to Draco a bit into the feast and gave him a sorry smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I don't mean to neglect you." She joked, and Draco smiled and waved a hand at her.

"Don't even worry about it, we have all Christmas Holiday to catch up." He said, and she gave him a quizzical glance.

"What do you mean? You have work, and I'm staying at the Borrow, not the… Wait… Are you saying…?" She trailed off, and Draco grinned sheepishly.

"It was going to be a surprise…" He said. "I'm taking the Holiday off and staying at the Burrow." He said, and Ginny grinned.

"That's wonderful news!" She said. Draco gazed at her, she was so beautiful when she smiled. He realized he was staring and stood abruptly.

"Fancy some fresh air?" He said, and her eyebrows furrowed, but she nodded anyway and stood to join him after telling Luna that they would be back in a moment. They walked outside of the Great Hall, and immediately it felt cooler withought all the bodies that had been in the other room. Draco let out a nervous and frustrated sigh, earning a concerned look from Ginny.

"Are you alright?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm. He looked at her, and he felt his heart skip not for the first time that night.

"What is this?" He blurted out, and his face drained of color once he realized what he said. Ginny looked at him, taken aback. "I just.. I need to know." He said, his voice trailing off softly. He saw her face soften a little, and she gave him a small smile.

"I care for you." She said carefully. A flash of pain crossed his face, he should never have asked, he thought. She grabbed one of his hands and he looked down into her eyes.

"Ginny, I just want to know, should I even try?" He asked, letting the pain he felt show in his voice. He watched her for a moment before she smiled.

"I would be hurt if you didn't." She said, reaching up and giving him a lingering kiss on the cheek.

Ginny POV:

She didn't mean to hurt him at all, she wanted this to happen. She cared for him so much. She didn't want what they had to be ruined though. She wanted to kiss him so much, so she compromised with herself.

She kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger for a moment. She put her feet flat on the ground, and looked up at him. He still looked upset, even though she thought she had made it better.

"Look," She said softly. "I hate being away from you, I'm excited that you're here with me tonight, I'm happy that you're staying at the Burrow over the holiday. Let's figure this out over the holiday… what about that?" She said cautiously, she saw Draco think for a moment, then he nodded, pulling her into a hug. He cleared his throat then took a step back.

"I have something for you." He said, putting his hand into his pocket and pulling out a small package and handed it to her. She smiled and tilted her head slightly.

"It's not Christmas yet.." She joked, opening the package to reveal a beautiful necklace. "Draco…" She said, lost for words. He smiled at her, and she gave him a tight hug. "When did you get this?" She asked. He took a moment before answering.

"Since a couple days before you moved into the Manor." He said. Ginny stared at him for a moment.

"That's a long time." She said seriously, handing it to him. "Will you help me put it on?" She asked softly. He nodded and stepped behind her as she lifted her hair to make it easier for him. She felt his hands rest softly on the nape of her neck before he stepped back. She let her hair back down and turned back to face him, smiling. She fingered the pendant around her neck, and blushed furiously when Draco met her gaze intensely.

"We should head back inside." She said abruptly, looking down. Draco cleared his throat and grabbed her hand softly, they walked together back to the Ball.

Draco POV:

The night passed by quickly, and slightly awkwardly. He was still unsure what they were, but what she had said to him earlier had been enough to encourage him. He was fine with figuring out what they were over the Holiday. She had worked hard for this night, and he felt horrible for almost ruining it.

He should never have brought their relationship up, now it was awkward and he wished that it wasn't. They had danced a few times, but it was stiff.

"Dance?" He asked, holding out his hand. She grabbed it and smiled, he pulled her to him, making her trip a little on purpose. He caught her, making her laugh, and led her to the dancefloor. It was a slow song, so he pulled her close, and when it was still stiff he took a step back, and grabbed her hands.

"What?" She asked him.

"We can not be awkward the whole time." He said plainly. He shook her hands. "We need to loosen up." He said, shaking her hands until she laughed and gave in. Then they danced for the last few songs. They said bye to their friends before they walked out of the Great Hall together. They stood in silence for a moment before Ginny spoke.

"Well.. I'll see you in the morning?" She said, grinning. Draco nodded and took a step toward her. He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Thank you for letting me be your date. I had fun." Draco said into her ear, and she answered with a laugh.

"I wouldn't want it to be anyone else." She said, giving him a squeeze. He smiled and began to pull away before changing his mind.

He pulled her back into the hug, and they stood in silence for a few moments.

"Goodnight, love." He said, giving her a kiss on her forehead. He pulled away slowly, Ginny was smiling at him.

" 'Night" She said, giving one of his hands a gentle squeeze before turning and making her way up the stairs that Draco knew would lead up to Gryffindor Tower. He saw her disappear around a bend before he let out a soft sigh. He made his way to the room he had used so much during his sixth year at Hogwarts, he had been told it was repaired and that he could stay the night there. He was looking forward to this holiday, he was going to be spending the whole time with his best friend. He smiled as he settled into the bed the room had provided for him. He loved that family, and he loved that girl he had just spent the night at the ball with. He opened his eyes suddenly at his realization. His heart sped up as he thought the words again. He smiled, he wanted to say it out loud, then he realized, he was in a room by himself. Nobody would hear him, he could say whatever he wanted, as loud as he wanted. He took a deep breath, and spoke the words as a whisper with his exhale.

"I love Ginny Weasley" He heard himself say, and then the room fell silent once again. He grinned, it felt good to say it out loud, he thought as his heart slowed down.

"I love Ginny." He whispered once more before falling into a blissful sleep. He would make sure to tell her, but tonight hadn't been that night. It had been the night he admitted it to himself.

A/N: AHHHHH! RIGHT? HE SAID IT! Much Loves! -Bookworm


	26. Chapter 25

A/N: HERE YOU GO! JKR OWNS EVERYTHING.

Ginny POV:

Ginny woke early the next morning, deliberately wanting to beat Draco to breakfast. She smiled as she sat down by herself, she thought about the day before how Draco had surprised her, it had been a good day. She was really nervous to see him this morning though, especially after their talk last night. She liked Draco, a lot, she just didn't want to get hurt and she didn't want to hurt him either.

She turned to look at the doors that led into the Great Hall, and found she had turned just in time to see Draco walking into the room, a small knapsack in his hand. She grinned and looked at her own bag that she would be taking back to her home. She heard footsteps behind her and looked over, he had walked over to her and was standing slightly behind her.

"Hey" She smiled at him and patted the seat next to her. "Go ahead, sit. Have a bite."

"Good morning." Draco said, taking the seat and pulling an empty plate to him. He piled it full of food and started to eat.

"You ready to go home?" Ginny asked, looking at him, and he nodded in turn. "I can't wait to see everyone again." She said excitedly, eating the last of the food that was on her plate.

"They'll be thrilled to see you too." Draco said, smiling over at her. They spent the rest of the meal in silence while he finished. AS soon at the last bite was in his mouth, Ginny hopped up and grabbed his arm, she was excited to get going home. He stood up, letting out an over exaggerated sigh. She smiled and grabbed her trunk, dragging it behind her as they made their way to the office that was being used as a floo point. The headmistress greeted them and led them to the fire that was burning in the heart. Ginny grabbed the floo powder first and tossed it into the fire. She stepped into the fire, bringing her trunk with her.

"The Burrow." Ginny said clearly, and she felt the flames lick her as she started to spin. She closed her eyes tight as she spun toward home. She felt herself land suddenly and stumbled a bit, she grinned as she looked up, George was standing in front of her. She was pulled into a tight hug by her brother, and she smiled as she hugged him back.

"Hey George." She said, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"Hey there." He said back to her, and they heard Draco stumble out of the grate. "Hey mate, how are ya?" George asked him, letting Ginny go. She took a step back and looked at the men in front of her. They were both so tall, she thought. George pulled Draco into a quick hug and then he looked earnestly at Ginny.

"Mum's in the kitchen, you ought to go see her, she's missed you." George told her, and she nodded. She gave Draco a quick smile then walked to the kitchen. Molly Weasley was standing over the stove, cleaning up from breakfast.

"Hey Mum." Ginny said, and she jumped a little. Ginny laughed slightly as she walked over and hugged her mum.

"Oh Ginny dear, it's so good to see you." She said, hugging Ginny tightly. "Is Draco with you dear?" She asked, pulling back to look at Ginny. She nodded as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hello Molly." He said, and Ginny felt her heart skip a beat when he smiled. She felt her cheeks get warm and she looked down. "I know it's selfish, but can I steal Ginny again? I wanted to show her… You know." He winked at Molly and she laughed and nodded.

"Of course." She said, shooing the two younger people out of the room. Ginny looked at Draco, slightly confused. She let him lead her up the stairs.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking at Draco. He smirked at her, but didn't say a word. She let out a huff and grabbed his hand as they climbed the stairs. He led her up to her own room and smiled at her.

"Close your eyes." He said, she glared at him.

"Why?" She asked slowly. He just shook his head and looked at her until she did what he said.

Draco POV:

He smiled as she shut her eyes. He looked for a moment, noticing that her lips were turned up in a smile, and he thought about how she had kissed him. He wished that it had been a real kiss, he mused, but he shook the thought off. HE turned toward her door and opened it quickly, looking back to make sure that her eyes were still closed.

Satisfied, he pulled her forward until they were in the middle of her room.

"Okay, open them." She did, and it was followed with a gasp.

"What… What did you do to my room?" She asked, looking around at the walls that were now gold. She also had a new bedspread and curtains on her window. "You changed everything.." She said, gazing around the room.

"You don't like it?" He asked nervously. She looked at him, and he raised his eyebrows. He had painted the walls himself, without magic. He had really thought that she was going to like it.

"I do, it's just a rather large surprise, don't you think?" She said, still looking at him and he shrugged.

"I just thought, a change might be nice, ya know?" He said, looking around, thinking that he may have made a mistake. He looked at her, thinking about the conversation they had had at the castle.

"Gin…" He said, and she looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?" She asked. "I love the room Draco. Don't think otherwise. I'm sorry, I was just surprised. Thank you." And with the last word, she took a hold of his hand again. Draco looked down at their hands then back up at her.

"Why can't we do this?" Draco asked softly, squeezing her hand gently. She looked up at him, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. "Please just tell me. 'Cause I have to know." He was letting his guard down. He looked at her, and he knew, in that moment, that he would do anything for her. Even if it meant staying only her friend, but he wanted to be more.

"Draco don't.." She said, gently starting to pull her hand out of his.

"No. I know you said you didn't want to ruin this. But how would us being happy ruin us being friends?" He paused. "You.. You would be happy… Right?" He asked, looking at her earnestly. She took a moment before answering.

"Yeah.. But-" Ginny started. And Draco shook his head.

"But nothing. Just tell me. Please Ginny." Draco said. He grabbed onto her other hand, so that he was now holding both of hers.

"I don't want to hurt you if this doesn't work." She blurted out.

"Ginny I don't want to hurt you either." Draco whispered. He just wanted to make her happy.

"I'm not even worried about that Draco. I just don't want to hurt you." Ginny said, looking into his eyes. He smiled and leaned down.

"I wouldn't want anyone else to hurt me." Draco said in her ear. He leaned back and looked at her. Ginny smiled a little and shook her head.

"Really?" She said, and she looked up into his eyes. He nodded earnestly.

"Ginny… I…" He started, then he thought that maybe it might be too soon to tell her exactly how he felt. Instead of saying anything else, he slid one hand behind her neck and pressed his lips softly against hers. He pulled back and looked at her, she was smiling and threw her arms around his neck.

"I want to be with you." Draco said bluntly. Ginny nodded her head slowly.

"Okay." She said softly and he leaned down to kiss her once more.

A/N: *cackles loudly* THEY DID THE KISSSSSS! REVIEW! PLEASE! Much Loves- Bookworm


	27. Chapter 26

A/N: I love this chapter so much, and i hope you all do too. R&R! JKR owns Harry potter.

Ginny POV:

She was in absolute bliss. Christmas was a boring affair, given the fast coming wedding. Ginny had gotten the usual Weasley sweater, and she was thrilled to see that her mum had made one for Draco as well. She watched him as he opened it, and noticed the wide grin that plastered his face.

Draco had given her a new stationary set and a broom kit. She had gotten him a couple journals, she had noticed that he wrote down what had happened at work in journals and she figured he would like a couple nicer ones. He had gotten up and hugged her immediately. She had given Hermione, Harry, and her father books. She had given Ron a new bedspread to replace the Cannons one he had. She had given George a notebook of Fred's that she had found that was full of new prank ideas. She had watched him carefully as he opened it, she had seen his eyes fill with tears before he looked up and smiled at her. She had given him a smile and a small nod in return.

Dinner that night, for the first time she ever remembered, had been small. Her mum had explained that she had decided to save the feast for the wedding. They were all feeling the stress over the next day.

Ginny and Draco helped each other clean up the house, and once they had finished that, they moved onto cleaning the yard. For this task though, they recruited the help of Harry, who helped speed along the process by at least a couple hours. When they finished, Ginny grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him over to the small creek, which was frozen from the December chill. They had stopped on the bank, hand in hand, and Ginny tapped the ice with her foot.

"Long day." Draco stated simply, pulling Ginny closer to him and wrapping his arm around her.

"Yeah.." She sighed and watched the fog her breath caused disappear into the air. She felt Draco's eyes on her and smiled a little.

"No second thoughts?" Draco asked softly, ever since their kiss, he had asked that question at least three times a day.

"None at all." She said, but she heard footsteps behind them and jumped out of his arm. They hadn't told her family yet, worried about her parents telling Draco he would no longer be able to stay at The Burrow. She looked behind them and saw that it was Hermione, who was looking at them pointedly.

"You should tell your parents." She said, and Ginny sighed again. "Come on, you know that they would love it. I know for a fact that Molly would be thrilled, and as long as you both behave yourselves, your dad will be fine too. Just tell them." She said as she walked over to stand next to Ginny. Ginny stared at her before giving a relenting nod.

"I know… But what if they don't believe that we just started.. this?" Ginny asked, gesturing between herself and Draco. Hermione thought for a moment before replying.

"Just tell them the truth, I will back you up." She said, nudging Ginny with her arm and smiling at her. Ginny gave her a hug.

"Okay, but you sure you won't mind us telling everyone the day before you get married?" Ginny asked, she really wanted people to be thinking more about Hermione than her and her new relationship. Hermione shook her head.

"It's not like they'll be worried about it tomorrow." Hermione laughed. "Speaking of, I came down here to tell you Molly wants everyone in the house. Dress rehearsal." Hermione said, gesturing for the couple to lead the way. They walked up to the house and as soon as they were all inside, Ginny and Hermione were swept away by Molly to try on their dresses for the next day.

"Mum it fits fine." Ginny said as her mum walked around her, she was tugging at different parts of the dress. Ginny turned to face her mum and put her arms on her shoulders. "Mum, I'm serious. Its perfect." She smiled and gave her mum a peck on the cheek. She smiled at her daughter and pulled her into a hug.

"Well girls, lets get downstairs, dinner should be ready by now. Ginny and Hermione nodded and changed back into their normal clothes.

Draco POV:

Everyone was excited at dinner, they were all talking about the next day, Draco was excited too. He had become close with this family, and he was so happy that the two people he had grown up next to were getting married. He had realized, even though they weren't friends as kids, he considered them his best friends now. He and Ron had actually become mates, and would go out for drinks together often.

He and Ginny were sitting next to each other at dinner, and about halfway through, Ginny grabbed his hand. He looked over at her, and knew exactly what was happening.

"Are you sure?" Draco whispered, and she smiled and nodded slightly. He nodded and saw that she looked nervous. He squeezed her hand and cleared his throat loudly, getting the attention of everyone around the table.

"So…" Draco started, and glanced over at Ginny again before continuing. "Ginny and I are dating." He blurted out, and cringed. He probably could have said it a bit more delicately, but he's not sure what he could have said.

He looked over at Arthur and paled. He was staring at Draco, and he decided to amend what he said.

"When she got back, a couple days ago, we had a talk… And we're giving it a go." He said. Arthur kept his eyes on Draco for another moment before giving a slight nod.

"You stay on the couch." He said, reaffirming what Draco had thought was coming.

"Yes sir, of course." Draco said, glancing around the table once more. Molly was grinning and as soon as he looked at her, she spoke.

"Oh that's wonderful. Ginny dear, why didn't you tell me?" Molly asked, looking at her only daughter. Ginny smiled sheepishly at her mother.

"Not sure." She said softly. Draco glanced around at the other people at the table. Hermione and Ron were grinning and congratulated them, George nodded and continued to eat his food, and Harry just stared at Draco before turning away, not giving any indication as to what he thought of the new development in the relationship. Draco looked over at Ginny, who was happily chatting with Molly. He smiled and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Draco, a word?" Arthur said suddenly. Draco stood up and followed him into the living room. "I am concerned Draco. My daughter means the world to me. I won't have anyone hurting her." He said sternly. Draco swallowed the lump in his throat before speaking.

"Sir.." Draco paused to think for a moment before speaking. "I have never intended to hurt your daughter since we reconnected. I understand that at school I was a prick, but… Sir I love your daughter. I don't know when it happened, but it did, and I want to give her the world. If she ever changes her mind about us, I will respect that. I will respect your daughter completely, and I will do everything I can to make her happy." Draco took a deep breath, glad he had said everything aloud. Arthur eyed him for a few moments before nodding and sticking out his hand to Draco, Draco grinned and shook the older man's hand before they headed back to the kitchen together.

He took his seat beside Ginny once more and kissed her cheek.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear. She turned and gazed into his eyes for a moment in surprise, her eyebrows were raised and then she grinned.

"I love you too." She whispered back, Draco smiled, he couldn't imagine anything better than this moment.

A/N: SO y'all like it? I know I do :) Much Loves- Bookworm


	28. Chapter 27

A/N: Hey so I wanted to let you know, this story will be coming to a close soon (still some chapters left, don't worry too much). I will be starting a new story soon, called Kissed By Fire, it will be a Fremione story. I hope you guys love this story as much as I do, I have worked really hard on this. Arnoldhelen1, you have been a constant drive for me, I love how you always comment and you have been a big part of me continuing to update and dragging this out as much as i can, so thank you. As always, JKR owns Harry Potter.

Ginny POV:

Hermione was hyperventilating. Ginny was looking deep into her eyes, she had her hands on Hermione's shoulders and was breathing deeply, the older girl was copying her.

"Hermione you need to calm down." Ginny said softly. "It's all going to be perfect." Hermione nodded, her eyes had tears in them. "And don't ruin your makeup." She said more sternly, making Hermione laugh a little bit. Ginny pulled her future sister-in-law into a tight hug.

"What if he doesn't show up?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking a bit. Ginny smiled a little.

"He will be there. I know he will be. You don't need to worry about that at all. He loves you so much Hermione, and you guys are perfect together." Ginny said, and Hermione nodded a little bit.

"Thank you." Hermione whispered, and Ginny gave her a smile.

"Now, lets get you into that dress." Ginny said, turning to grab it. She saw her mum in the door and gestured her over to her. "Mum, go make sure that Ron is getting ready?" Ginny asked, and her mum nodded and walked out of the room. Ginny turned back to her friend, holding the dress in her hands. It was a beautiful floor length dress that had a tight bodice but flared out in a poof of tulle at the waist, it was very simple, and brought out Hermione's flawless complexion and her curly hair. They got the dress on quickly and then Ginny turned the ready bride to the mirror behind her.

"You look beautiful." Ginny said in a hushed voice, it was all she could manage at the moment with the lump that was forming in her throat. It just hit her, her best friend of seven years was going to marry her brother, her best friend was going to be her sister. She took a deep breath to get rid of the tears forming in her eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

"Okay, we have to get going downstairs." She said, smiling at Hermione in the mirror, she looked a lot more calm now. Hermione turned around to face Ginny and held out her hand, Ginny handed her the bouquet and they left the room.

They met Harry at the foot of the stairs, he was Ron's one and only groomsmen, and Ginny was Hermione's only bridesmaid. Harry held out the crook of his arm and Ginny gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek, leaving her with her father. Harry and Ginny walked to the backdoor, to the white carpet that led the way down the aisle to the alter. The music started and Harry and Ginny began to walk. Ginny kept a smile on her face and caught Draco's eye in the audience. She gave him a wink before looking straight ahead once more. They got to the alter and separated, and then they looked down the aisle to where Hermione was making her way toward them.

Ginny felt tears welling in her eyes again, and decided not to hold them back this time, she let a couple fall so that her vision was no longer blurred and when Hermione got to the alter, she took the bouquet back.

The wizard overlooking the ceremony began to speak, and Ginny looked over at Harry, their best friends were getting married to each other. Harry was staring at her, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable, she looked away quickly and looked over to Draco. He was eyeing Harry, then looked over suspiciously at Ginny, who gave him a concerned look before turning her attention back to the couple. By the time the ceremony was over, she couldn't wait to get out of her heels, her feet were killing her. They clapped as the couple kissed, then they all stood so that tables could be magically set up.

Ginny made her way over to where Draco was standing and gave him a quick kiss.

"You look handsome." Ginny said to him, and he gave her a terse smile.

"You look very beautiful too." He stated, and Ginny looked up at his face. He looked extremely tense. He stared at her for a moment before speaking. "He was staring at you. I thought he was okay with us?" He said, and she sighed.

"I thought he was too, I think today just made everyone think." She said carefully.

"Were you thinking?" Draco asked her, his eyebrows pulling together in concern. Ginny smiled.

"Yes, about us." She said, blushing. She saw Draco's face relax into a smile and he hugged her tight before they walked over to their seats. They sat down next to each other and picked up their flutes of champagne. As it quieted down, Ginny stood up to make her toast. She tapped a knife against her glass and cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention.

"So.. you all know me, sister of the groom, and Hermione is also my best friend. Hermione…" She paused for a moment before continuing. "You are the best friend that I could ever ask for. I know we have had our differences, but you have always been there for me and my brother. You make him a better person, and god knows that's a good thing." She heard a burst of laughter around her and she smiled. "I just know that you will make him so happy. And Ron…" She took on a more serious note for this part. "If you ever hurt her, I will Bat-Boogey hex you to next year." She eyed him and saw the laughter get replaced with fear. She grinned with satisfaction. "To Hermione and Ron." She finished, and everyone raised their glasses then drank to the couple. She sat back down and Draco kissed her on the temple.

"That was great love." He said, and Ginny smiled.

"Thank you." She whispered as Harry stood and made a short toast. His toast was followed by Ginny's mum and then everyone ate a bit before the dancing.

Ginny pulled Draco to the dance floor and they began to slow dance together.

"I'm glad we told them." Draco said to her, holding her tight to him and Ginny nodded.

"Me too… I love you." She said, and Draco stopped dancing to kiss her.

"Mind if I cut in?" A voice said from their side, and they jumped apart in surprise to see Harry standing there. Draco, being the gentlemen, stepped back from Ginny. She smiled at him before beginning to dance with Harry. They were both stiff, unlike how she and Draco danced. They were also extremely silent.

"So…"Ginny said, trying to start a conversation.

"Why?" Harry asked abruptly. Ginny looked at him, confused.

"Why?" She asked, wondering what he meant.

"Why didn't you come back to me?" Harry asked. Ginny pulled away from him a bit, uncomfortable.

"Harry, I thought it was obvious… I don't love you anymore. I haven't for a long time now." Ginny said, looking down a bit.

"Well.. I did…" Harry said. Ginny shook her head.

"Sorry Harry, but I'm with Draco now, and I'm happier than I have ever been." She said, pulling completely away from him. He looked at the ground. "You should be ashamed." She said quietly. "And you need to move on, everyone else has." She turned and walked over to Draco, hugging him when she got to him.

Draco POV:

"Are you okay love?" He asked her, he had seen that Harry had said something to upset her. She nodded her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm good." She said, kissing his cheek. "Shall we get some cake?" She asked him, he wasn't sure if she was being completely honest, but he trusted her.

He stood up and led her over to the table that had the cake on it, it had already been cut and he let Ginny cut him a small slice. They began to walk back to their places but Draco made sure to stop by Arthur and Molly to tell him what he thought.

"This is amazing." He said, and Molly beamed. "Congratulations to the both of you." He said, and Arthur stood up to give him a hug. Ginny then took his hand and led him back to their spot.

By the end of the night, Ginny was pissed drunk and she was talking loudly as people began to leave. Hermione was also under the influence of alcohol and the two girls began to dance together wildly on the dancefloor. Ron came over to sit next to Draco with a drink in each hand, giving one to him.

"Hey mate." Ron said, and Draco clapped him on the back.

"Married man! How are ya?" Draco said, grinning. Ron smiled back and took a swig of his drink.

"Couldn't be happier. Married the woman of my dreams." He said, looking at Hermione and Ginny dancing. "Who knows, maybe you'll be next." He said, winking at Draco, who smiled and took a drink.

"I don't know about that, I think we are gonna take this slow." Draco said, and Ron nodded knowingly.

"Yeah, I think that would be best, Ginny seems happy, but… given everything that has happened these past couple years…" Ron said, and Draco nodded, understanding completely.

"Hey.. can I ask you something?" Draco asked, turning to face Ron. And Ron nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Does Harry seem…. Off?" Draco asked, and Ron looked at the table, thinking.

"Mate… I don't think he ever got over my sister… He seems… closed of whenever she's around." Ron said, and Draco nodded.

"Do you think that it's going to cause problems?" Draco asked and Ron immediately shook his head.

"No, as long as you don't get jealous or anything. I know my sister. She will never do anything to hurt you, so you have nothing to worry about." Ron said, and Draco looked at him for a moment before holding up his glass.

"To the future." Draco said simply and Ron raised his glass before taking a gulp. They then went over to their respective ladies and began to make their way inside the house with the rest of the Weasley clan. Draco helped Ginny climb up the stairs to her room. He helped her walk over to her bed and she laid down.

"Goodnight love." He said, kissing her forehead. She smiled sleepily and sighed.

"I don't love him anymore you know." She mumbled, and Draco felt his heart settle, he didn't even know that he had been tense.

"Yeah, I know… Go to sleep Gin." He said, and Ginny closed her eyes with a smile on her lips. He gazed at her for a moment before making his way downstairs, he was happy to sleep on the couch if it meant waking up to see her in the morning. He fell asleep that night with that thought on his mind.


	29. Chapter 28

A/N: So I wrote this while watching Trolls, so... yeppers. Anyway, Arnoldhelen1, you're an awesome person. Just so you know. R&R! JKR owns Harry Potter and all related characters.

Ginny POV:

She woke up the next morning with a headache, so it was a relief for her to have Draco bring her a big glass of water and a plate of breakfast.

"Good morning." He said, and she smiled sleepily at him.

"Morning Draco." She mumbled, the vibrations in her skull made her head hurt even more. He laid the plate of bacon and eggs in front of her and she eyed it hungrily. She began to eat and he sat down on the bed next to her. He looked a little uncomfortable and she stopped eating. She swallowed the bit of food that she had in her mouth and set down her fork.

"Draco are you okay?" She asked, and he nodded, putting on a fake smile. She eyes him and shook her head. "Don't start lying to me now Draco. Tell me what it is."

"I just…" He tilted his head, thinking a little. "Well.. Last night you said something… and I just want to know you meant it." Ginny squinted her eyes a bit before remembering what she said after she had laid down the night before. She placed her plate of food onto the bedside table and scooched to sit next to Draco. She took his hand into hers and smiled at him.

"Draco I meant it. I don't love Harry anymore. I love you." She kissed him softly on his lips, and he smiled.

"I just wanted to make sure, okay love?" He asked and she nodded. "Now eat your food, you'll feel better." She sat back and picked up her food once more. She finished quickly and after a bit, Draco suggested that they go downstairs to see the newlyweds, Ginny agreed and she grabbed her plate and they walked downstairs together.

"Morning." Ginny said as the caught sight of Hermione, who looked tired, Hermione gave her a small smile and drank some more water. Ginny walked over to the kitchen and put her plate away, then moved back into the living room, where Draco had sat down in the chair that she and Draco had slept together in. She snuggled up next to him in it, it really was a large chair. They began to talk with Hermione and Ron.

"So do you have plans for a honeymoon?" Ginny asked, and Hermione and Ron looked at each other, grinning.

"We were thinking… maybe backpacking on the continent?" Hermione said, and Ginny gave her a puzzled look.

"Won't that be like when you all were on the run?" And she saw Ron shrug.

"Naw, this time we won't be running from Voldemort and Death Eaters." He said plainly, and Hermione smacked his arm lightly.

"And, we will be going sight seeing and such. Imagine it, Paris, Madrid, it's going to be wonderful." And once Ginny thought about it, she nodded, it did sound amazing.

"Yeah, that does sound fun, so when were you thinking of going?" Ginny asked. "It's a bit cold right now, don't you think?"

"Yeah, so were waiting until late spring, so it'll be a while before we go." And Ginny nodded. It made sense, they would freeze to death if they left now. She felt Draco move his arm from beside her, she leaned forward and he put his arm around her. She smiled and leaned into him, she felt herself blush a little bit. She turned and kissed his cheek before turning back to Ron and Hermione, she opened her mouth to say something, then Harry entered the room via the stairs. She snapped her mouth closed and was aware of the fact everyone in the room looked slightly uncomfortable. Harry looked around the room before sighing.

"I take it you all know?" He said, looking around the room, and everyone nodded besides Ginny, who was looking at Draco, he looked upset. "Look, I'm sorry…. You were right Ginny. I need to move on. Thanks for.. you know… making that clear." He said, looking at Ginny. She nodded and gripped Draco's hand tightly. Draco looked at her, she smiled at him.

"Glad you get it mate." Ron said, and Draco grinned, he and Ron really had been getting along great. He nodded to Ron and pulled Ginny just slightly closer to him. Harry laughed a bit.

"Took me a while." Harry agreed. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Am I forgiven?" Harry asked, turning toward Ginny and Draco. Ginny looked toward Draco and smiled a bit.

"As long as you mean it." She said plainly, and Harry nodded.

"I really do mean it." Harry said, and she felt Draco nod slightly next to her.

The rest of the day, they passed time by playing chess, and reading. Ginny and Draco also found time to take a walk to the nearby creek. Draco was wearing his Weasley Sweater, and she loved looking at him wearing it. They found a log near the frozen water and they sat down on it, hand in hand. They sat in silence for a bit, then Ginny kissed Draco. It was different from their previous kisses, it made Ginny's heart race and she felt his hand go up her back and onto her neck. Draco deepened this kiss and when they finally broke apart, Ginny was left breathless.

"Wow…" She said softly, and Draco gave her one of his signature smirks.

"That good?" Draco asked, and Ginny laughed before kissing him again. They were still locked together when Hermione and Ron stumbled onto them.

"Oi!" Ron yelled, and Draco and Ginny broke apart. He advanced on them, looking livid. "That what this is to you? Just bring my baby sister out to have a nice shag?" He said, getting in Draco's face, who had the common sense to look a bit scared.

"No mate.. we were just…" He began, and Ron cut him off.

"I see exactly what it is you both were just going to do." Ron said, and Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Ronald! Stop… they were just kissing." She said, and Ron looked at her then back at the pair sitting on the log. He gave them a sheepish look before looking down.

"Sorry… I shouldn't have jumped to that…" He said, Ginny grinned, Hermione had already changed her brother for the best.

"It's okay brother, now we know what you and Hermione would have been doing." She joked, and she saw Ron get red before she gave him a hug. "Thanks for looking out for me." She whispered. "But chill." She added as she pulled away. "it's getting cold out here anyway, we should head back inside before we catch a cold." She directed the last part of her sentence to Draco.

"You fancy a cup of tea?" Draco asked, and Ginny nodded.

"You lot coming?" Ginny asked Ron and Hermione, who shared a look before Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him to follow after Draco and Ginny.

Draco POV:

They had tea with the other couple until Arthur came home from work for the day. Then Molly started to warm up dinner, and Ginny went into the kitchen to help her. Ron asked if he wanted to go upstairs and have a chat, and with a sigh he followed the newlyweds up to their room.

"Mate, I'm just going to come right out and say it." Ron said as soon as they all took a seat. Draco saw Hermione sigh and roll her eyes. Draco nodded, telling Ron to continue.

"I don't mind you dating my sister, you make her happy and you're my mate, but you can't just go around and snog her whenever it pleases you. Or at least, not when it's likely I or my family will walk in on it?" Ron said, Draco looked to Hermione, he didn't think that Ron, or anyone for that matter, would get upset over this. Hermione gave him a small smile, telling him that she was thinking along the same lines as Ron.

"We are dating. We won't see each other once she goes back to school again… I didn't think anyone would walk over there and I'm sorry it was you who saw it. We will make sure to be more… discrete." Draco said carefully. He looked over at Ron, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.

"Mate why do you need to kiss her?" Ron asked, Draco glanced once again over to Hermione, and her expression this time stated she wasn't on board with them not kissing at all.

"That's part of a relationship Ron. I'm not going to not kiss Ginny. I love her, that's how most people express that." He said, he didn't even realize that this was the second time he was telling someone else other than Ginny that he loved her. He hadn't said it in front of the pair that was sitting in front of him though, and by the looks on their faces, they weren't under the impression that the relationship had developed these feelings.

"I knew it!" Hermione exclaimed. Ron looked at her, exasperated.

"Okay, you knew it. As always." Ron said, giving her a peck on the cheek. She grinned at Draco. He smiled back, he was so happy in this house. Ron eyed him then gave a relenting sigh.

"Ugh, fine just be more… how did you put it? More discrete?" He said, and Draco nodded, he grinned and stood up, gesturing for a hug. Hermione pushed Ron to stand up and when he did he gave Draco a hug.

"I'm happy for you mate." He said, now grinning. "Does she love you?" Ron asked, and Draco shrugged.

"Yeah, I think she does, no clue why though." Draco said, and Ron laughed.

"Fair point." He said. "You are just so unlikeable." He said, and Draco laughed loudly. They were still laughing when Ginny entered the room.

"Hey you lot, dinner's ready." She said, looking around happily, Draco stood and walked over to her, she took his hand and began to lead the way down the stairs. About halfway through, Draco pulled her to stop walking and bent down to kiss her. It was a long, lingering kiss, that lasted all the way until Ron and Hermione go to their point.

"Oi! What happened to 'more discrete'?" Ron said, looking between the two. Ginny looked up to Draco with a confused look on her face and he just shrugged.

"I couldn't help it." He said, smirking. Ron rolled his eyes as Hermione cracked up once again. They made their way as a group down to the kitchen where the rest of the family was waiting to eat. They took their seats and Ginny grabbed a plate, as did everyone else. They all loaded their plates and began to eat. Draco looked around making sure everyone was preoccupied with their food before he placed his left hand on Ginny's right thigh, she started and looked up at him, surprised. She was blushing, and he winked at her, she laughed one short burst, making Ron look up at them from across the table, he eyed them and Draco looked at Ginny, who crossed her eyes at her brother, making Hermione, who was watching the whole exchange, laugh aloud and soon the table was a mass of laughing people.

A/N: So if you read my A/N on the last chapter, you know I'm thinking of writing a Fremione story, and I'm thinking, leave me some ideas for other Harry Potter stories? Please? I would really appreciate it. Maybe some prompts to get my creative juices flowing? Much Loves- Bookworm


	30. Chapter 29

A/N: Hope you like this chapter! JKR owns Harry Potter.

Ginny POV:

She wasn't looking forward to going back to school, quite the attitude change from the summer, when she was excited. She was to go back this evening, and classes would be starting back up tomorrow. She was packing her bag back up when she heard the knock on her door.

"Come on in," She said, and the door opened to reveal Draco. He walked in and sat down on the edge of her bed. She smiled at him and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Hey love, you okay?" She asked him, and he nodded.

"Yeah… It's just… we haven't talked about what you and I are going to do after you get out of school." He said, and she stared at him, this was obviously something that he had thought a bit about. She sat down next to him and he continued to speak. "We haven't talked at all about what you want to do, if we are going to stay together while you are at school, we haven't talked about any of that." He looked at her, and he looked truly upset.

"Draco… yes we're going to stay together while I'm at school. And after…" She paused, she really had been thinking about this lately. "I think.. I want to be an auror. I loved doing security at your firm, and I think I was really good at it." She peeked over at him to see that he was smiling just slightly.

"I think that's a wonderful idea." He said, and he pulled her close to him and kissed her temple. She hugged him, relieved. She had been a little worried that he wouldn't like the idea, given his dark past. She let out a sigh and then stood up again.

"I don't want to go back." She said, and Draco chuckled. "I'm gonna miss… all of this." She said, gesturing to her door, indicating her home. Draco nodded in understanding.

"Are you sure you wanna go back?" He joked, grinning. And Ginny laughed, they both knew that for her to be an auror, she needed to finish her schooling. She smiled over at him then finished packing her bag.

"So… Last day. What are we gonna do?" Draco asked, scooting back and leaning against the wall. Ginny sat back next to him and they sat like that in silence for a while. After a bit, she grabbed a couple books and handed one to Draco, he took it and smiled at her, they had been reading together before bed lately. They started reading and after a bit, Draco started nudging her with his elbow. Usually, if Ginny ignored him, he would stop after a couple minutes, but this time she started nudging him back. It escalated quickly and led him to tickling her. She was laughing loudly and trying to get away from him, but he held her down and continued to attack her.

Suddenly, a throat was cleared and Draco jumped off of her bed. Ginny looked up, and saw George standing in the doorway, he had one eyebrow arched and was looking back and forth between Ginny and Draco.

"Hey George, we were just… reading." With the last word, she glared at Draco, who smiled back innocently.

"Right-o." George said, and he walked into her room. He sat down on her bed without invitation and was quiet for a moment.

"George, you alright mate?" Draco asked, sitting at Ginny's desk. George looked at him nervously.

"I think I want to ask a girl on a date." He said softly, Ginny's face broke into a grin. He hadn't done anything like this since Fred died, she took this as a good thing.

"Who's the lucky lady?" Ginny asked him, elbowing him gently, and he glanced at her before answering.

"Angelina?" He said, and her mouth fell open.

"That's brilliant mate!" Draco said. He grinned at George, who started to smile. "You've been talking to her a lot, it's about time you went on a date."

"Thanks mate. I was just wondering, if she says yes… where should I take her?" He asked, looking back and forth between the two. Ginny was about to suggest a restaurant she knew of when Draco spoke up.

"Mate… you like her a lot?" Draco asked, and George nodded his head solemnly. "Bring her here then." Ginny and George both looked at him like he was insane but her held his hands out, gesturing for them to let him talk.

"Look, I knew I liked Ginny when she brought me here for the first time… And I love it here. It's home to me. Not the Manor. You lot are wonderful and welcoming. Just bring her here to meet everyone. Ask Molly to make you a picnic or something to take down to the creek. I know how much your family means to you, and if she can't accept that, then she isn't your girl. It's the perfect date to see if it's worth it." He finished his speech and waited. George was gazing at him, obviously considering the idea and Ginny was sitting mouth open wide at what he had just said.

"You think of here as your home?" She asked, and he nodded, smiling.

"I didn't tell you, but I've been staying here for a while now. I haven't been to the Manor in… A couple months now. Well, I go to make sure the house-elves are doing alright, but that's it." He said, and she looked to George for confirmation, he nodded, smiling at her.

"I think it's brilliant mate, thank you. I'll leave you to talk." He said, and Ginny swore she saw him wink to Draco before he stood up. He left the room and Ginny turned her attention back to Draco.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked softly. Draco looked guilty before answering.

"We weren't together Gin… I wasn't sure if you would think it was weird or not." He said, and she sighed.

"I don't, I think.. it's sweet." She smiled at him before realizing something. "Wait, are you telling me that you've been sleeping on the couch for a couple months?" And Draco grinned and shook his head.

"Naw. I haven't been sleeping on the couch." He said.

"Well where then?" She asked.

"Charlie's old room. But right before you got back, Arthur asked me to stay downstairs while you're here, just to.. reassure him that we wouldn't be doing anything." He said, and Ginny shook her head in bewilderment.

"Well, lucky for you, I won't be here tonight so you can move back upstairs." She joked, but as she said it, her smile faltered. She had reminded herself once again that she would be leaving.

"Trust me, I don't feel lucky about that." He stated, and he walked over to her and gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead. They sat like that, hugging, for a few minutes until they heard Ginny's mum yell that lunch was ready. Draco stood up and pulled her with him.

"Come on, let's go get some food then do something fun." He said, and wiggled his eyebrows at her, she laughed and followed him out of her room and down the stairs.

Draco POV:

He had an idea, he would have to talk to Molly and Arthur, but he had an idea, and he thought it was brilliant. They were just finishing up eating when he met eyes with Arthur, who had taken the day off since his daughter was leaving that night.

"Can I talk to you in the living room?" He asked, and Ginny looked over to see who he was talking to. He smiled at her when she gave him a questioning look and shook his head. She shrugged and began to clean up the table. Draco stood and walked into the living room, and Arthur followed him.

"What's this about son?" He asked, and Draco suddenly felt extremely nervous.

"Well I…" He fidgeted with his hands a bit and he saw the hard look Arthur had walked in with soften.

"How about we sit down?" Arthur suggested, and Draco nodded while taking a seat on the couch. Arthur took a seat across from him in a chair and waited patiently.

"I think I'm going to sell the Manor." He blurted out, and Arthur stared at him in shock before letting out a long breath.

"Son, you know I don't mind you staying here but…" He trailed off and Draco nodded.

"No I understand that… I was wondering… I know the land next to you on the next hill is for sale. I came across it at work. I know you are a busy man… But I want to build a house.. Ginny told me you built this one…" He left it at that, hoping that Arthur understood what he was asking. He looked at him for a moment, and Draco began to feel anxious.

"Are you planning on asking my daughter to live with you? Arthur asked, Draco was silent for a moment before answering.

"Yes sir, after it's ready." Draco said. Arthur stayed silent while he thank over what Draco had said.

"Okay." He said, nodding. "The boys and I will help you." He said, and Draco let out a thankful sigh.

"I hope you know how much this means to me that you said yes." Draco said, and Arthur smiled at him.

"You love my daughter, and I don't see an end for the two of you, I want you both to be happy." Arthur said, Draco and he stood at the same time and Draco shook the older man's hand. "Just let me know when you want to start."

"Of course… One more thing though. Well… two." He said, and Arthur nodded for him to continue. "The first, can I stay here until we finish? I want to sell the manor as soon as possible. I'll put my belongings into the family storage vault until we finish, then I'll sell the vault too." Arthur nodded his agreement.

"Yes, that's fine. We should be done by summer." He said, and Draco nodded. "And the second thing?" Arthur prompted.

"Sir…" Draco paused, this was an important question. "When Ginny is finished with school, and if you agree at that point… Can I have your permission to ask Ginny to marry me?" He asked, Arthur stared at him. "Like you said, you don't see an end for us, and I've loved your daughter for… well longer than I will admit to. I know I want to marry her." He said, he knew he was right. Ginny was the only woman he would ever love again. He don't know how he knew it, but he had fallen in love with her and nothing would veer change that, he just hoped she felt the same way.

"Draco, I am going to hold off on saying anything right now. I want to know how Ginny would feel about marrying you first. Is that alright?" Draco nodded, even though he knew that it wasn't up to him, Arthur had asked the last part out of courtesy.

"Of course sir, I understand." He said. He looked down, disappointed he didn't have an answer yet. He jumped slightly when Arthur placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll find out before tonight and let you know." He said gently, and Draco nodded in thanks.

They walked together into the kitchen and Draco went over to Ginny, who kissed him quickly.

"So what would you like to do?" She asked, she glanced over at her parents, Arthur was speaking quietly to Molly, who was looking more and more excited with every word. "Is that about whatever you spoke to dad about?" She asked, and Draco shrugged innocently.

"Do you wanna… Walk into town? George is always going on and on about the muggle magic shop." He suggested, and she kissed his cheek.

"That's perfect, let me just run and grab a coat." She quickly went upstairs and Molly immediately came over and gave him a tight hug.

"Oh darling, this is so exciting." She said, and Draco smiled at her after she released him. She had tears brimming in her eyes.

"Thank you Molly. I assume you are okay with everything?" He asked, and she laughed.

"Of course I am!" She said, and she turned back to the dishes when she heard Ginny coming back down the stairs.

"Okay, let's go." Ginny said, and they walked outside together and made their way into the nearby village.

They made it back to the house just in time for dinner. To his surprise, Hermione and Ron were sitting at the table talking with Arthur, Draco had thought they would be away tonight, Ron had told him earlier that they were going out to dinner. Arthur looked up and caught Draco's eye as he set down Ginny's purchases on the bench by the door. Arthur looked pointedly at Hermione, who popped up and said something about 'girl talk' and dragged Ginny up the stairs. Draco looked at the two men, who grinned at him.

"I told you I would find out tonight." Arthur said, and pointed up. Draco grinned, that was sneaky of him. A while later, they heard the girls coming back downstairs and Molly quickly served up what she had made for dinner.

"Okay love, you have a couple of hours before you have to be going. She said, as Ginny took her seat next to Draco, who automatically placed his hand on her leg. He would miss her so much, he realized. At least tomorrow he would be getting back to work. They all started eating, which was accompanied by loud chatter around the table. Draco saw Hermione lean over and say something to Ron, who then said something to Arthur. He kept a placid look on his face, not giving anything away.

They kept the conversation cheerful and before they knew it, it was time for Ginny to leave. Draco went upstairs and grabbed her bag for her, and then entered the kitchen and placed her purchases from earlier in the day into it. She then took it from him and placed it next to the fireplace. She hugged each member of her family, and Harry, who had come to see her off, then she turned to Draco. He enveloped her into a hug and she buried her head into his chest.

"I love you." He heard her say, and he chuckled.

"I love you too Ginny." He whispered into her ear. He then pulled away just slightly and kissed her. He wasn't going to see her for a while, he kissed he for what seemed like minutes, but in reality was just a few seconds. He released her and she backed up to the fireplace.

"I'll see you all soon." She said, and she was bombarded with kind goodbyes from her family. She met Draco's eyes and he smiled at her, she smiled back and then picked up a handful of floo powder. She tossed it into the fire and it turned green.

"Hogwarts." She said firmly, holding tight to her bag. Draco met her gaze once more before she disappeared. He felt empty as soon as she was gone. Arthur then walked over to him and he looked up at the other man, frowning.

"You have my blessing." He said, and Draco's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Really?" He asked, he looked around at everyone else in the room, they were all grinning at him, apart from Harry, who just looked confused. He then, without thinking, he hugged Arthur, who laughed.

"Yes really. Now, let's get to planning this house of yours." He said, and he led the way into the kitchen. They then spent hours; Draco, Arthur, and Ron, talking about the plans for Draco's house. It was after midnight before they decided to go to bed, and when he fell into the bed he hadn't used in weeks, he was sleepy, but thrilled that his future with Ginny was coming together so easily.

A/N:R&R? Maybe? Much Loves- Bookworm


	31. Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry! Been really busy with work lately. I hope that you like this chapter, I like it :) JKR owns Harry Potter.

Draco POV:

The next day at the office, his entire attention was focused on selling his estate. He wanted it gone as soon as possible, and he wanted to start getting offers so that he could buy his new property. He had stopped by the Manor that morning to tell the house elves what he had planned. He also told them what to start packing, which wasn't very much. He wanted to keep everything from the library, some furniture, and his kitchen wares. They had immediately started and he left for work.

By the end of the day, when he went back to the manor, his things were already packed and ready to go even though he had told them to take their time.

He told Clank to take all of the things they had packed and take it to the family vault she and a couple other elves started moving the boxes and furniture. He walked upstairs, passing the library, he looked inside and stopped in his tracks. It was empty, and it was strange that after living here his entire life, he wanted to leave. He smiled to himself, he wanted to leave and start a new home for himself… and Ginny. He made his way to his room, his bed was gone, he had been prepared to sleep here tonight, it would be hard to be at the Burrow without Ginny, again. He sighed, it looked like he would go back anyway. He shrugged his jacket back on and appariated to the spot he and Ginny always appeared at. He made his way to the door that led into the kitchen, and as soon as he stepped inside, he was met with the smell of something cooking. He smiled and saw Molly walking over to him with a smile of her own on her face.

"Hello darling, how are you?" She asked, giving him a hug.

"Good Molly, thanks." He said. "What's for dinner?" He asked, sniffing the air.

"Shepard's pie, sound good?" She asked, and he nodded, she patted his cheek and walked over to the stove. He pulled his coat off his shoulders, and put it on the pegs by the door. He walked into the living room and sat next to Arthur, who had papers strewn in front of him.

"What's this?" He asked, looking over at the papers.

"House plans." Arthur said, moving some of the papers over to Draco, "What do you think?"

"Arthur, this is perfect." Draco said.

The plans showed a two story house, the bottom level would have the living area, the kitchen, a washroom, and a couple closets. The second level had two rooms. One was the master bedroom, it had an attached bathroom and a closet, and the second room was across the hallway and there was a second bathroom attached to that room.

"Oh.. wait… Arthur…" Draco trailed off, not wanting Arthur to think his plans weren't great.

"What is it, have I forgotten something?" He eyed the list of rooms Draco and he had agreed for the house to have, and Draco saw his eyes widen when he saw the last room they had decided on. He then slapped his palm on his forehead and shook his head. "I'm such a dunce.." Draco heard him say.

"No, it's fine, what if… What if we made the attic the Library? I mean, I didn't want to take that much from the Manor, and we could have a larger storage shed for anything that Ginny doesn't want in the house?" He said, phrasing it as a question in case Arthur didn't like the idea. Arthur was silent for a moment, and Draco began to second guess his idea.

"If you don't like it…" He began, but Arthur shook his head.

"No, that's a brilliant idea. I hadn't drawn the attic in yet, but now that it's a library, I can make sure that it'll be… you know, protected, since there will be books in it." He nodded and grinned at Draco, who smiled back. He was so excited to be planning his future with the man who he would soon be related to, he hoped so at least.

Arthur pulled the papers back to him and started to sketch again, and Draco leaned back against the pillow behind him and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he heard a voice next to him and he jumped a bit. Molly was standing next to him, smiling.

"What?" He mumbled.

"Wake up dear, dinner's ready." She was saying, he looked around, Arthur was no longer on the couch, and the plans for the house were cleared from the table in front of him. He stood up slowly with a yawn, and followed Molly into the kitchen. Arthur was the only one at the table as Draco sat down.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"Oh, Ron, Hermione and Harry all went out for dinner and drinks tonight. They said it was 'for old time's sake'. So they won't be back until late tonight." Molly said, dishing out their meal onto their plates. Draco thanked Molly, and dug into his food, as they ate Arthur told Molly about the plans for the house, and showed her a couple of the drawings he had made up.

"So," Molly said, addressing Draco. "You are just going to stay here until it's finished?" She asked him, he finished chewing his food before he answered.

"Yeah, I told the elves to take as long as they needed to pack, but I guess they only needed a day, so everything left in my house is going to be sold." He said to them, and both Molly and Arthur nodded.

"I know you are working on selling your house, but what about everything inside of it?" Arthur asked, and Draco shrugged. He thought for a moment, and an idea sprung into his head.

"Can I borrow your owl?" He asked, and even though he looked confused, Arthur nodded. He watched as Draco wrote for a bit between bites of his dinner and then he tied his letter to the owl's foot with a small pouch full of coins. The bird spread it's wings and left through the window Molly opened right at that moment.

"So what was that about?" Arthur asked him, and Draco grinned.

"Took out a bit in the Daily Prophet and paid them extra to put it in tomorrow's paper. I'm going to have an estate sale on Saturday." He said, and finished his food in a couple more bites.

"Brilliant. People can see the house at the same time." Arthur said as he walked past where Draco was sitting on the table. He washed his plate and set it down to dry and Draco followed suit. It was at that moment he realized just how tired he was, and he said goodnight to Molly and Arthur before heading upstairs to bed. He climbed in and took a deep breath, he would have to write to Ginny tomorrow to ask how her first day back had gone.

Ginny POV:

She had talked to the headmistress, and she now knew that she was right on track if she wanted to become an auror. She would have to study more to get good marks on her finals, but with quidditch about to end, that wouldn't be much of a problem.

The only problem she had at school, was that everyone thought she looked sad. She was fine, she kept telling people. And she was. Sure, she was a little down because she just wanted to be back home, she missed everyone, but in a few days she would be right back to normal. People just kept asking her, and it was really getting on her nerves. She kept staring daggers at people and because of everyone around her, she was looking forward to her patrols that night. It would be peaceful without other people around her.

She was almost done with her last class, potions, when Luna walked up to her.

"Luna, I'm fine." Ginny hissed, trying to keep her voice down. She had spoken too soon though, and knew it when she saw the flash of hurt cross her friend's face. She let out a sigh, she really needed to pull herself together. "I'm sorry, people have been asking me all day if I'm okay." She explained, and Luna nodded before taking a seat in the stool next to Ginny.

"I just wanted to ask, did you and him really get together?" She asked, and Ginny stared at her.

"Wait how do you know that?" She asked Luna.

"Oh, I saw you in the village over the holiday." Luna said with a shrug.

"Right, yeah yeah we are." Ginny said, bottling up her final product and cleaning up her cauldron and supplies.

"Well good, its about time." Luna said, making her way back to her own station, Ginny stared at her for a moment, smiling before taking her vial to the professor's front desk. She waited a moment for the bell to ring, then walked out of the classroom with the throng of other students leaving the room.

She made her way to the Great Hall for dinner, he rounds would start in a few hours and she wanted to get some homework done before she needed to get going.

She was slightly disappointed that Draco hadn't written her today, she though he would, but she knew that he was going to work again today so he was probably too busy.

She made her way to the library after she finished eating and pulled some books off the shelves. She worked on two papers before taking a break, she put her head on the table until she heard footsteps coming toward her. She looked up to see Madam Pince, who was staring at her. Ginny snapped her books shut and stood up.

"Sorry, I'm going." She said. The older woman nodded, and Ginny packed up her bag before she got detention for drooling on the books. She tossed her bag over her shoulder as soon as she had put the books away, and left the library as Madam Pince started to blow out the candles around the library.

She went up to the Gryiffindor tower and put her bag away, then put on her head girl badge on before leaving once more. She walked around the hallways, which were empty and dark. She rubbed her arms, the castle was a bit cold, and as she turned a corner her heart skipped when she saw blonde hair, she immediately thought of Draco, but the hair was way too long.

"Luna?" She asked, and the other girl turned around.

"Oh, hello Ginny." Luna said, Ginny walked over to where her friend was standing.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Ginny asked, and Luna shrugged.

"I must've just walked down here in my sleep. I just woke up before you walked over." She smiled at Ginny, who laughed a little.

"Okay, well I'll walk you back to your common room." Ginny said, and she and Luna began walking together.

"So when did you get together?" Luna asked, and it took a bit for Ginny realize that Luna was talking about Draco and her.

"Over holiday, right before the wedding." Ginny said, and Luna nodded.

"I thought so, but I couldn't tell at the wedding. You danced with him the most though I suppose." Luna said, her soft voice carrying though the castle. "So… Do you love him?" Luna asked bluntly. Ginny looked at her, surprised, as they climbed some stairs.

"Umm… We haven't been together for very long Luna." She said, for some reason she was nervous to tell her friend how she felt about her new boyfriend.

"So? Do you love him?" Luna asked again, they were reaching the common room, and Luna stopped walking. "Ginny, you can tell me." She said seriously.

"Umm… Yeah. I do love him." Ginny said, and a smile broke onto Luna's face.

"That's amazing, I'm so happy for you." Luna said, giving Ginny a tight hug. She then skipped over to the entrance to her dormitory and entered, disappearing from sight. Ginny smiled, this was the best thing to have happened to her all day, she and Luna didn't have girl talk very much, so it was wonderful that they had that small moment. The rest of her patrol time passed by very quickly, and when she finally went to bed, she made sure to think about other things she and Luna could talk about other than school.

A/N: So, what did you thiiiiink? Much Loves- Bookworm


	32. Chapter 31

A/N: So I know it's short, but I like it. You deserved more than this, but I couldn't make it happen. Those comments that were left by a guest hit me pretty hard, and I considered just deleting the story, I obviously don't handle criticism well. I'll work on that. I should have gotten this chapter up days ago, but I was stuck. This is what I got though, and I will get the next chapter up soon. JKR owns everything.

(Yes, OOC, and AU)

Draco POV:

Dearest Ginny,

I'm so sorry I didn't write yesterday to ask how your first day went. So, how did it go? I really missed you yesterday, It was odd to not have you at home anymore. I started work again yesterday, it was insane.

Also, no more of this only one letter from me a week. I'm going to write you as much as I can.

I have to end this letter now, I have a meeting, I'll write you later to let you know if it went well. Write soon.

Love,

Draco

-The Saturday of the Open House-

He was busy at the house, people were coming in and out, he had sold quite a bit already, but he was looking for people who might be interested in buying the house. He really needed to sell the house for his whole plan to work, so he spent the whole day talking it up to people. After a while, he noticed that a lot of people were taking photographs of inside the house. He told one of the elves to find out why so many people were taking pictures, and when he heard why, he was suddenly struck with inspiration.

"Master, sir they is taking photos because it is the ancient house, nobody has ever been inside." He stared at the house elf for a moment before letting out a sigh, he wasn't sure what he could do about that, suddenly an idea popped into his head, and his eyes went wide.

"Clank, I think I have an idea." He told her, and she smiled excitedly. "I have to go to the Ministry of Magic." She stood there, staring at him.

"Now sir? But I have almost finished your supper…" She trailed off, and then nodded. "I will get your coat." She said, and she disappeared with a pop. A moment later, she was standing in front of him, holding the garment that was obviously too big for her to carry very far. He gently took the coat from her and threw it over himself.

"I will be back later to eat." He said, giving his elf a thankful smile, she worked so hard. He spun on his heel and found himself standing in front of the entrance to the Ministry of Magic. He set his shoulders and marched inside, out of the rain. He could hear his shoes squeak slightly on the stone floor as he walked up to the security desk. He placed his wand down on the counter and the gruff wizard picked it up and inspected it before handing it back to him.

"Mr. Malfoy, what can the Ministry do for you?" He asked.

"I would like to see the Head of Historic Buildings and Museums." He said, the security guard stared at him for a long moment, trying to judge if he was joking.

"You planning on making a donation?" The man asked him, and Draco smirked.

"Of sorts." He said, taking the visitor badge he was handed and he began to walk away.

"Fifth level!" The security wizard called out, and Draco waved to show he heard him as he entered a lift.

He found the office easily enough, it looked like it was the only office on the floor that was actually in use, although barely. He knocked on the door and a middle-aged witch raised her eyes from the papers that she had been staring at.

"Mr. Malfoy." She stated, she sounded surprised.

"Hello, I'm here to speak to the Head of Historic-" He started but he stopped when she stood.

"That would be me, the name's Johnson." She said, holding out a hand and he shook her hand before taking a seat. "So what brings you to my office?" She asked him, he liked that she was being quite straight forward.

"I want to sell you Malfoy Manor." He stated simply. She leaned back in her chair and raised her eyebrows.

"Now, tell me why I would want to do that?" She asked, and he grinned.

"I had an open house today. I'm trying to sell it you see, and I noticed how many people were taking photographs. I had someone find out why, and it seems that it was simply for the fact that nobody had ever been inside of it before. Tell me Miss. Johnson, how many Museums are in London?" He asked, she started to rummage through some papers, and he amended what he said. " I'm sorry, I mean, how many wizard museums are in London?" She glared at him slightly before answering.

"None." She said, and Draco nodded sadly.

"Not a single one, sure we have tons of old buildings, but not a museum. People have to go to France, or Egypt to see a wizard museum."

"Mr. Molfoy, please get to the point." She said, and he nodded.

"Malfoy Manor is in a prime spot, it's the size of a small castle and horrific things have happened there. Voldemort himself has been in that house. I think you would benefit from making it into a museum." He said, he was silent then, indicating that he was done, and she folded her hands together, thinking.

"That's… an intriguing idea, Mr. Malfoy. What artifacts would you propose to put in there?" She asked, and he started making a list of things he would be willing to provide.

"And, I personally know the 'Golden Trio', I might be able to get them in on it too." He said, and she perked up at that.

"Even just a few personal items from the three of them would make this place more than worth it. You have yourself a deal." She said, she stood up once more and shook his hand. They then decided on a price and Draco told her that she would receive an owl within a couple days with what he would get from each of the Golden Trio.

He felt giddy as he walked back out of the Ministry, the price they had set on was higher that he had hoped for, and it would leave a lot for him to put into savings. He stopped back by the Manor and ate what Clank had prepared before heading to The Burrow once more.

Hermione and Harry had been easy to convince, Hermione had given a few books from her childhood, an old watch and a teapot. Harry had given him an old photograph of him and his parents, saying that Hagrid had loads more, he would have trouble getting another one. He also found his old quidditch robes, and said he would give those, along with his old pair of glasses from when he was still in school.

Ron, on the other hand, was being very difficult and couldn't land on anything that he would be willing to part with. Finally, after hours of exasperation and arguing, Hermione was able to convince him to get rid of his Cannons bedspread, his broken wand from second year, and part of his chocolate frog card collection. He handed them all over, though reluctant.

A few days later, he met Miss. Johnson at the Manor and showed him everything he had been able to scrape up, and when she judged that it would be sufficient, they then went to Gringotts and she deposited the money owed into his vault. She let him return to the estate to tell the House elves they could either go or stay and work at the museum, most chose the museum, but Clank insisted that she wanted to go with him to his new home. After a while of her crying after he told her 'no' he relented, dreading the talking to that he was sure to get from Hermione as soon as he brought her back to The Burrow.

He left the Manor through the front door, the small elf had dissaparated with the belongings he had left and had taken them to The Burrow. He then handed the keys over to Miss. Johnson, and took down the family wards that were in place around the estate, he shook the witch's hand once more and then spun on his heel, appearing in front of The Burrow a short moment later. He entered the home with a grin, he was home.

Ginny POV:

She had been writing to Draco every other day, and would need to buy more parchment when she got the chance to go to Hogsmeade. She had been studying every free moment that she got, which was a lot, and she was currently rubbing her head due to a headache. The headmistress wanted to meet with the staff, Head students, and prefects about something that evening and she had to finish her extra credit for Potions before she could go. She jotted down a few more lines, one hand resting on her temple, before deciding it would have to do.

With a sigh, she stood and made her way to the staff lounge, where she wanted the meeting held. She ran into a few prefects on her way and they all walked together into the room. They sat down, and since they were the last to arrive, Professor McGonagall began the meeting immediately. Ginny relaxed in her chair and focused on what she was saying.

"The students have been going through the coursework faster this year since there are so much fewer. We didn't anticipate this. So the board had decided that instead of having the final exams in June, they will be at the end of April, and the students will have a longer Summer Break. They decided it will continue like this until our attendance numbers reach what they used to be, instead of a third of that." She paused, there was murmuring around the room.

"Will this effect our salaries at all?" One professor asked, and the Headmistress shook her head.

"Not at all, this was uncontrollable." She said, and the teachers around the room nodded. A question popped into her head and she blurted it out before anyone could say anything else.

"Will it effect our coursework?" She asked, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she too received a shake of the head. She was already studying every spare second, she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle more coursework. She relaxed and smiled, realizing that this meant she would be able to see her family, and Draco, sooner. The meeting let out shortly after that. Noticed were going to be sent out to notify the families of each student that school would be ending almost two months early.

She felt her happiness falter a bit when she realized she would only have four more months left of school, what if the Auror academy decided that she wasn't good enough? What if four months wasn't enough to be ready for finals? She wondered all of this and more as the made her way up to her room, she needed sleep. Tomorrow, McGonagall would make the announcement, and she just knew that the students would be crazy from now until then. She needed all the sleep she could get.

A/N: I know, I'm yelling at me too. This chapter was much too short and Ginny's part was so small it was hardly worth adding it into the chapter, but she's at school, not a whole lot of fun things are happening. Much Loves- Bookworm


	33. Chapter 32

A/N: Ginny's part is small, Hogwarts is kinda boring right now. Anyway, anyone playing Hogwarts Mystery? I am, and I'm LOVING it. As always JKR owns everything, enjoy the chapter.

Draco POV:

He had decided to wait until he asked Ginny to move in with him to tell her that he had sold the Manor. He wanted to tell her, but he thought that maybe she would start asking questions as to why and he didn't want to give anything away. Ron and Arthur had been a huge help so far.

Right after he sold his property, he had been able to purchase the bit of land for his new home, and now that it was getting warmer outside, they were going to start building. They had found out that the framework would need to be done by hand, and Arthur had convinced his eldest son, Bill, to help them. As soon as the framework was done, most of the rest would be able to be done with magic, which was great given that they would now have less time to finish it.

He had gotten the letter from Ginny saying that they would finish with school at the end of April, and now it was early February. She had been extremely stressed out, but he new now that Quidditch was over, she would be more relaxed. Being the captain had been taking a lot out of her, even before she had found out about school ending sooner.

Draco was getting ready to close up the building when he realized that he hadn't written to Ginny yet today, he quickly pulled a piece of paper toward him, and began to write.

 _Ginny,_

 _Love, you don't need to worry about your exams, I know you will be brilliant. You have been driving yourself mad studying. Maybe next Hogsmeade weekend, you should meet up with some friends and have a day out. I mean a full day Gin, not just until lunch. I can send you some money to have some fun, my treat, just relax a little. Hermione told me the other day that she found out stressing about exams usually made her do worse on them, so just try to take it easy, okay? I love you, and I hate to know how much you are worrying._

 _Also, I told you, Angelina loved the date idea I had. She and George are going on their second date tomorrow, and she suggested going to the Burrow again. I know, I know, I'm brilliant._

 _I cant wait to hear from you love, I'll write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Draco_

He sealed the letter and sent it on it's way before locking up and apparating back home. He had moved some of his things into the Burrow, including Clank, though after the talk Hermione had given him, he made if very clear that she was free to leave whenever she wanted. When he had told her this, she had thrown herself at his feet, sobbing, and begged him to let her stay. As he had reassured her, he had looked pointedly at Hermione, who had the tact to look slightly embarrassed.

"Hello Molly." He said, he had walked through the door to the kitchen and she was inside, cooking. She had gotten the hang of knowing when he would be on his way home, and she was usually cooking supper when he arrived. He smiled and gave her a hug as he walked by her to enter the living room.

"Hey mate." He heard Ron say, and he waved at Hermione when she looked up. The couple was sitting on the floor, playing a game of chess. He set down his briefcase and sat down on the couch, he took a sigh and rested his head on the back of the couch before he heard someone else enter the room.

"Oh, hey Draco, didn't realize you would be here." Harry said, Draco glanced over at Ron, he knew that Harry didn't know he had been living here, but he had thought Ron would have told him about it after he sold the Manor.

"Haven't seen you in a while mate." Draco said, and Harry shrugged.

"I've been out of the country actually, for work." He said, and Draco nodded. He knew that a lot of the time, new aurors would be sent out of the country to liaison with other Ministries.

"Where were you anyway Harry? You haven't written in ages, we were getting a little worried." Hermione said, turning away from the game of chess. Draco saw Ron grin before he put the game into checkmate, he let out a whoop before catching a glare from his wife. He stood up and hugged Harry before sitting on the couch with Draco.

"Oh, I was in France actually." He left it at that and took a seat in a chair. Hermione, noticing that she was still on the floor, stood up and came over to the couch as well, where Ron put his arm around her waist. "So what are you doing here? I thought you only came for Saturday dinners, and the wedding of course." He nodded respectfully to Ron at the last statement then turned his attention back to Draco. He glanced down, unsure how to say that he was now living here. Luckily, Molly picked to enter the room just in time to hear the question.

"Oh don't be silly Harry dear, Draco has been living here for, oh is it three, maybe four months now?" She said, turning to the three on the couch, all of whom were looking at her, with wide eyes. She noticed them and turned bright red. "Oh dear… I must get back to the food." She muttered, quickly walking back into the kitchen.

Everyone was silent, Harry was staring back and forth at Ron and Draco. Hermione was looking around the room, clearly uncomfortable. Ron was twiddling his thumbs, looking down. Draco, however, was looking right back at Harry, waiting for him to say something.

"Four months?" He said quietly, he didn't sound quite mad, but he didn't seem happy either. Draco nodded. "Don't you have a Manor to live in?" Harry said, now he sounded upset.

"Actually Harry, Draco sold the Manor, he's building a house on the next property." Ron hitched his thumb over his shoulder. "Oh hey, that means you and Ginny can just walk over for dinner." Ron said absentmindedly, smiling at Draco. Hermione elbowed Ron in the side, who just seemed to realize exactly what he said.

"Wait, are you moving just to be closer to Ginny?" Harry asked, Draco let out a small sigh, he hadn't caught on, thank God.

"Yeah, in a way." He muttered the last part, and he heard a small snort from Ron. Harry seemed to hear it too, and he turned to his best friend.

"And you are okay with that?" He asked Ron, and he nodded. He looked at Draco, then let out a breath.

"I'm gonna tell him." Draco studied him for a moment then shrugged.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked, and Ron turned back to him.

"You remember when Dad told Draco that he had his blessing?" Ron asked Harry, who thought for a moment before nodding.

"Then you all went into the other room for the rest of the night? Yeah, I remember…" He trailed off, realized what Ron, and Arthur, was talking about. "You're going to marry her?" Harry asked.

"Well, I'm going to ask her first." Draco said. "But that's the plan, yes." Harry looked at the three on the couch, flabbergasted. He shook his head and placed it in his hands.

"Mate, I thought you and Draco were alright?" Ron said, confused.

"Yeah, before they were together." They heard Harry mutter, and Hermione finally injected herself into the conversation.

"Harry Potter. You need to grow up. Draco isn't a child anymore. He and Ginny are so good together, you guys just weren't. Now you need to respect that. We all know you've had a rough go at it with getting over Ginny, and we have all respected that, even Draco. You need to take Ginny's advice, get over it. She has moved on, and you need to as well." She said, giving Harry a hard look, he looked up at her, then looked at Ron, and finally at Draco.

"I'm sorry mate… If Ginny is happy, that's all that matters." He said, shaking his head a little. Molly reentered the room, and glanced around nervously. Draco watched her look at a clock above the mantelpiece, and he followed her gaze to look at it. It was at that moment he realized how Molly was always making dinner on time. He had seen the clock before, and he knew that it said where everyone in the family was. He was just realizing now that it had a new hand on it, one that said 'Draco'. He felt his heart enter his throat, and tears prickled his eyes a bit.

"Arthur should be home any moment, lets sit down for dinner." She said, and he drew his eyes from the clock as he stood. He followed Ron, Harry, and Hermione past Molly, to whom he gave a quick hug. "Are you alright dear?" She asked softly, following behind him into the kitchen, he nodded his head and smiled at her as he sat down.

"Yeah, thank you Molly." He said, looking down at the table.

Ginny POV:

She had been given even more duties beside her normal ones, she was now doing a night patrol twice a week with the prefects instead of just one, and she was studying more since the professors had been testing them more.

She had almost failed her last potions test, so she had been working more on that. Professor Slughorn had been letting her work on her brewing skills more with a small group of students during a free period.

She was at dinner now, having just finished up her study session, when an owl appeared in front of her with a letter. She smiled as she took it off of the owl's leg, she knew who's owl this was, Draco had been taking a lot of time to write to her.

She read over the letter quickly and scarfed down the rest of her meal so that she could write back to him. This one, he had written the date, it had taken a day for it to get here this time. Must have been bad weather, she thought as she pulled out some parchment and a quill.

 _Draco,_

 _Okay, yes you were right. And I'm so glad they are going on a second date! Have you talked to him about it any more? How is George doing anyway? I worry about him, he hasn't really written me since the holiday, can you tell him to?_

 _You're probably right about me taking everything a bit much. Maybe the Hogsmeade weekend is a good idea, I'll talk to Luna and see if she wants to. If you say it's your treat, do you think I could have just a few Galleons? I don't want to ask for too much. So tell me how you are? We don't seem to talk about you that much. I just want to know how you are. How has work been going? Any funny stories for me?_

 _Oh, speaking of funny stories, I had to ban George's Skiving Snackboxes until the end of turn. People have been taking them all over the place so that they might get sent home early. So far, not one student has been sent home early, I don't even know how that rumor started. Well, I should send this so you get it tomorrow. I love you Draco._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

She had to get the rest of her things back to her room before she had patrols that evening. She also had to hand an essay to her Transfiguration professor, and that would take a moment. She was turning it in a little late, and the professor had said that she would go over it with Ginny that evening if she wanted to get full credit for it. Maybe if she was lucky she would see Luna and be able to ask her about Hogsmeade.

She was lucky that evening, she actually ran into Luna on her way to turn in her essay. Luna had seemed extremely excited about hanging out together, and she said she would ask a couple other girls if they would like to join them. Ginny agreed with her before entering the classroom.

Her other bit of luck came when the professor read over her essay and gave her full marks, saying that it was perfect, and that she was sure Ginny would have no problem passing her final exams. She thanked her professor and left the classroom, she had a couple more hours before she would have to do patrols, she made her way to the library and sat down next to where she saw Luna and they passed the time catching up with one another.

She walked Luna to her common room before patrolling the rest of the castle, by the time midnight came around and the went to bed, she had run into nobody that was out after bed. She was extremely happy that she had a calm evening. For the past fortnight, she had been ushering the younger students back to bed. She collapsed into bed, happy to get some sleep, she would be able to sleep in the next morning since it was the first weekend since Quidditch had ended.

For the first time in a long time, she had a dream about Draco. It was summer, they were by the creek, and right before she woke up to the sun coming through her window, he was down on one knee. She woke up with a smile on her face, and thinking of the dream brought her back to the conversation that she and Hermione had had right before she had left…

~~~ The day Ginny had left The Burrow to go back to Hogwarts~~~

"So you really do love him?" Hermione had asked. Ginny nodded, blushing.

"I think I have for a while, but now we are actually dating… So it feels okay that I do now." Ginny had said, and Hermione had jumped a little on the bed.

"It wasn't okay before?" Hermione asked her curiously.

"I didn't think that it would be, and I really didn't think that everyone would be okay with it, but everyone seems to be fine with it, which makes me so happy." Ginny explained to Hermione.

"Everyone really is okay with it, we see how happy he makes you. I do have a question…" Hermione had said, and Ginny had looked at her curiously.

"What's that?" She asked, and Hermione looked at her nervously.

"Well, do you see yourself having a future with him?" Hermione asked him, and Ginny looked at her thoughtfully.

"Like… what kind of future?" Ginny had asked, and Hermione was silent for a moment before answering.

"Well, and I know that this would be in the future, not soon or anything, but would you see yourself marrying him?" Hermione asked tentatively. Ginny grinned.

"I see that getting married got you thinking." She said, giving Hermione a wink. "But… yeah. I would love to marry him, some day. I think he would be great, and I think we make a good team." She had said, and Hermione had grabbed her in a tight hug.

A/N: I hope this was okay. Much Loves- Bookworm


	34. Chapter 33

A/N: Again, Ginny's part is short, but oh well. Let's be honest, this story had gotten away from us all. JKR owns everything. Enjoy.

 ** _-TIME JUMP-_**

Draco POV

It was the day before Ginny graduated, he would be going with her family to the castle in the morning. They had just finished putting the furniture inside the house, and painting the walls. They had worked every spare moment they had had, and it had taken months still. They had run into some trouble getting permits for the house, but Arthur had smoothed things over when the Head of Building and Construction had refused to speak to Draco.

Ron and Hermione would be getting back from their honeymoon that afternoon, and since they had left before the house was finished, it was going to be their first time seeing the finished product they had all worked so hard on.

Draco was currently finishing up some paperwork at the office. He was going to leave early that day, he was going to have dinner with the Weasleys that night, he had moved into the new house about two weeks ago when they had gotten everything put together. He had just been moving in and putting paint on for the last two weeks. He was very excited to be going home to a complete house that night, and Hermione had sent him a letter saying that Ron was excited to see it too.

They had sent some pictures of them on their little adventure, they had gone to Paris, and had seen some museums, they had also gone to places like Rome, Egypt, and they had also taken a trip to America, where they were able to get a tour of the wizarding academy there.

Draco finished up some paperwork and packed up for the day before deciding to write a letter to Ginny. He knew that they would be seeing each other the next day, but he thought that maybe she would like to get a letter either way. He pulled some parchment over to him and dipped his quill into the inkwell on his desk before he began to write.

 _Dearest Ginny,_

 _I know we will be together tomorrow, and you even get to come home, which is wonderful, I just thought I would write you a quick note._

 _I am so proud of you, you have worked so hard this term, and it's so exciting that you were already accepted into the Auror Academy. I can't wait to see you again, to hold you in my arms, to actually hear your voice and not just read a letter. I cant believe how fast this term flew by, it seems like only yesterday I was watching you go into the fire to go back to school._

 _I don't want to drone on, its just so important to me that you know how much I love you and that you know that I am proud of you. And it's not just me, everyone is so proud of you and everything that you have accomplished._

 _Ron and Hermione seem to be having fun on their honeymoon, did they send you all the pictures they took? I just got them last week, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you. I've just been so busy with everything here. I should get going, I'm meeting your family for dinner._

 _Write soon._

 _Love,_

 _Draco_

He sealed the parchment with some wax and sent it on its way, hopefully the damn bird would get it there before she went to bed. Lately, Ginny had been getting his letters the day after he sent them. They had found out that it was because many owls would stop to check on hatchlings that they past by, since spring had started, all the owl eggs were hatching and it was causing problems with the mail. He thought about this some as he grabbed his briefcase and cloak before apparating to his new home.

He stepped inside the front door and found Clank waiting for him.

"Can I take your things master?" She asked, and he smiled, handing her his briefcase and hanging his cloak on a hook by the door.

"Thank you clank, I'm actually going over to The Burrow for dinner, if you just want to put that in the library. I should be home later tonight." She gave him a deep bow before scurrying herself down the hallway to the stairs. He had decided to make the library an office as well, with two desks. He could bring some work back with him when he needed to, and Ginny could as well when she became an agent.

He was very proud of the home had built for himself and Ginny, granted it wasn't hers just yet, he still had to ask her to move in with him. He was only hoping that she would say yes, he knew that it was moving fast, but he had realized, so much had happened in their lifetimes, and he had missed out on so much, he didn't want to lose any more time that he might have.

He entered The Burrow through the kitchen, it was basically a straight shot from his front door to their kitchen. As soon as he entered, he saw Hermione, Ron, Molly and Arthur sitting at the kitchen table.

"Oh hello dear, come sit, Hermione here was just showing us more pictures!" Molly said, gesturing to an empty seat at the table. He obliged, taking a seat in the middle of what sounded like a story about America.

"Oh and we traveled around Massachusetts, its so beautiful, it was almost being back here in England, it rained most of the time we were there though."

"That sounds lovely dear, I'm glad you both had such a lovely time." Molly said, looking at some of the photographs that they had. "I should get started on dinner, Hermione would you like to help me?" Molly asked, and Hermione hopped out of her seat to help. The other three stayed at the table and started to chat about Draco's house. Before too long, dinner was finished and the conversation stopped for them to eat.

"So mate, can we see the new place?" Ron asked, placing his now empty plate into the sink.

"Yeah, of course. Do you mind at all Molly?" Draco asked, he knew that she had been looking forward to the two of them getting back home. Molly just waved her hand with a smile and the three younger people left the house and made the short walk to Draco's home. He went inside and Hermione and Ron followed behind him.

He took them on a short tour of the house, ten minutes of which were spent in the library while Hermione marveled around the library, she also continuously dropped hints to Ron that she would like a library in their own home. After a bit, they all went back to the front door and began to say goodbye.

"You still coming tomorrow?" Ron asked, opening up the front door.

"Yeah, of course I am." Draco said. Hermione gave him a quick hug as he said it.

"Good, the we will see you in the morning." She said, going through the door and pausing to wait for Ron.

"Hey can I just meet you back at the house? I just want to talk to him for a minute?" Ron said, and Draco and Hermione both stared at him.

"Well alright then, I'll see you back home." She said, giving him a weak smile then turning and walking back to the house. Ron turned back to Draco and closed the door behind him.

"Mate, I have to ask you a serious question." He said, and Draco nodded for him to continue. "Do you think Hermione and I should get our own place?" He said, and Draco took a breath before sitting down at the kitchen table.

"I mean, your already married." Draco said, and Ron nodded. "Do you think you are ready to move out?" Draco asked, and Ron took a moment to think.

"I'm not." He said, he sounded sad about it. "I think Hermione wants to though." He explained, and Draco nodded.

"Well in that case, I think you should talk to Hermione about it, I think she will understand where you're coming from." Draco said. Ron nodded in understanding. "If you aren't ready, then you as a couple aren't ready to move into your own place."

"Thanks mate, yeah… I should talk to her." Ron said, nodding. "I should get going, it's been a long day." Ron said, standing up and leaving the house. Draco looked around, then he called Clank to him and asked her to make him some tea before he retired to his room for the night. She knocked on his door as he was changing, and he quickly pulled on his pajama pants before letting her inside the room. She quickly put his tea onto his nightstand before wishing him a goodnight and exiting the room.

Ginny POV:

She was very nervous, it was her last day at the school, she would be going home tomorrow. She was nervous, but so happy that she would be with her family soon. She was sure she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She was just far too nervous.

She was in her bedroom, packing up what few belongings she had when she heard a scratch on the window. She looked over, and saw Draco's owl. She opened the window and let him inside. She took the small scroll of parchment off of his foot before giving him a treat. He flew off and she sat down on her bed with his letter. She opened it and read it over quickly before laying back on the bed. She held it tight to her chest as she lay on her bed. She suddenly felt very calm, he would be at her graduation tomorrow.

She looked around her room, and realized that she no longer felt like Hogwarts was like home to her. She just wanted to leave. She was excited that she would be going to the Auror Academy in just a couple months. She had gotten her acceptance letter for it two weeks ago, directly after she had applied.

She got out of her bed, she needed to finish packing her things. She was able to finish very quickly, minus the graduation robes she would be wearing the next day. They were different from her school robes, they were much more professional and made her look much more adult.

She decided against writing back to Draco, he wouldn't get it before they saw each other, but she did write a short note that she would be able to hand him tomorrow before the ceremony. They had found out that she would be able to see him and her family for just a few moments before she graduated, so it would be a perfect time to hand him her note. She went to her full trunk and pulled out a small scrap of parchment.

 _Draco,_

 _I'm glad that I have you to look at in the crowd. Make sure to cheer the loudest love. I love you Draco._

 _Love,_

 _Ginny_

She folded up the small bit of parchment and placed it into the pocket of the robes she would be wearing in the morning. She went back to her bed, and climbed in. She needed to sleep, she thought. She closed her eyelids, which suddenly felt extremely heavy. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

A/N: Let me know what you think? Much Loves- Bookworm


	35. Chapter 34

A/N: Okay everyone, next chapter will be the last. It hurts to say it, but its true. I want to say thank you so much for everyone who fell in love with this story as much as I did. Now, I know people are going to have complaints about the pace of this chapter. Before you get mad at me, read my second A/N! After you read the chapter of course. JKR owns everything, of course. R&R!

Ginny POV:

Her nerves were firing all over the place as she got dressed in her new cloak. She pulled the layers on, and looked in the mirror on the wall.

"Looking lovely!" The charmed mirror said. Ginny grimaced a little, she felt like this cloak was a hundred pounds on her shoulders. She put her hand into her pocket and felt the note she had for Draco. She smiled a little, it calmed her down just a little to think about him being here today. She pulled her hair into a bun on the nape of her neck and swiped on just a touch of mascara to her lashes.

She took a deep breath and pulled her trunk behind her as she walked down to the Gryffindor common room. She piled it with the other trunks that were going to be sent to the respective homes of their owners.

She saw a couple other seventh years that waved at her, and she returned them. They grouped together in front of the portrait hole, silent. They all looked at each other, they had all been through so much these past seven years. Ginny looked at her friend Parvati Patil, they locked eyes and Parvati smiled.

"Big day." She stated, and Ginny nodded. "Nervous?" She asked Ginny.

"Very." Ginny said, and Parvati crossed over to her and they hugged. They hadn't spoken very much this year, but now Ginny was thinking about all the times they had spoken over the last seven. "What are you doing after?" Ginny asked.

"I'm going to start working at a Wardrobe shop in Diagon Alley." She said, smiling at Ginny. "You?"

"Auror Academy." She said, and Parvati grinned.

"Sounds perfect for you." She said, and they heard a bell throughout the castle. Parvati bit her lip a little. "Well I guess we should…" She faded off.

"Yeah.." Ginny said, and the small crowd left the common room. They walked down the steps as a group and they all paused in front of the Great Hall. They had never been to a graduation ceremony, nobody but witches and wizards that had already graduated were allowed in the room. It was very hush hush. They looked around at each other and entered all together.

Immediately, Ginny was engulfed by her family.

"Oh Ginny, I'm so proud of you." Her mother said, crying. Ginny laughed and looked over her mum's shoulder at her father, who also had tears in his eyes. She smiled and looked around at her brothers and at Draco. They all took turns hugging her before she got to Draco.

"I only have a moment, but I want to give you this." She said, handing him the note. They heard a small chime, letting the students know that they needed to take their seats. She gave him a smile and went to take her seat. They were sitting for a few moments before a Ministry official went on stage.

"I will begin by saying congratulations. You have all worked so hard to be here. More so than others that have graduated before you. You have been through a war. Everyone sitting here today has a resilience in them that cannot be quenched by anything that is thrown their way. I cannot begin to imagine what you have all done this year, what you have had to heal from." He began to clap, and the families behind them all clapped as well. Ginny grinned, this was really happening. She looked behind her and found Draco's face in the crowd. She was happy that he had been given special permission to be here today, he had to take a blood oath to never tell anyone what happened. When she had first hear, it had worried her, but then he told her that he just couldn't tell anyone what incantations or speeches were made.

She turned her attention back to the Wizard at the front of the room.

"Now we will lift the trace from each one of you that is still underage, you have now graduated and are able to use magic. _Rilasciare trace._ " He said. He made a grand wave with his arms, and a flash of light went over the students. "Now, everyone has submitted a card saying what they will be doing now, and we will be reading those aloud." He began to read the notecards, and Ginny noticed that they were in alphabetical order. She stared at the wizard, not really listening until she heard her own name.

"Now, Miss Weasley, Head Girl here at Hogwarts for this past year, she had stated that she will be attending the Auror Academy." There was a smatter of applause, and she grinned when she heard a whistle, she was sure it had come from her boyfriend. After a few more minutes, the Wizard had finished reading out the names and congratulated them all one more time before sending them on their way. The graduates all stood, hugging their classmates and congratulating them. After hugging a few people, Ginny made her way over to her family.

"Oh darling." Was all her mother got out before breaking down sobbing.

"Mum, maybe we should get going." Ginny said gently, and her mum nodded, sniffing. They left the castle together, they would disaparate from Hogsmeade to the Burrow. As they walked, Draco grabbed her hand.

"Did I cheer the loudest?" He whispered into her ear, and she laughed.

"Yes you did." She said, giving him a peck on the cheek. He grinned and they walked the rest of the way in silence. They came to the disaparation point and gathered in a circle.

"Okay, let's go in pairs, shall we? Bill and Charlie, Arthur and I, George and Angelina, and Draco with Ginny." Her mum said, and they all agreed. Draco grabbed her hand, and without warning, they were no longer on solid ground. They landed a moment later, and Ginny sucked in a breath.

"What did I say about doing that without warning me?" Ginny growled through her teeth at a grinning Draco. "And what are you grinning about?" She said, looking around.

"What do you think?" Draco asked, looking around his house.

"Umm… Draco… Where are we?" Ginny asked, staring at him.

"My house." He said simply.

"No we aren't. Draco, I've been to Malfoy Manor, and this isn't it." Ginny said. She looked around again, these were Draco's things, but it wasn't the Manor. "Wait, did you move?" She asked, shaking her head a bit in shock.

"Yes I did." Draco said. "What do you think? I worked hard on it." She stared at him for a moment before realizing what he meant.

"Wait.. Worked hard on it… did you build this house for yourself?" She asked a little slowly.

"Well… not just me…" Draco said softly, he stared at Ginny. She looked at him and her mouth fell open a little. She didn't want to assume anything, so she had to ask.

"Not just for you?" She repeated, and he nodded.

Draco POV:

He was bloody scared she was going to freak out. His hand shook hard as he reached into his pocket. He wrapped his fingers around the small key and pulled it out slowly.

"Ginny, would you like to move in with me?" He asked, and she stared at him. A moment passed without a word, and he lowered his head. She was going to freak out, he just knew it. It was stupid of him to ask her right now.

"Draco…" She said softly, and he looked at her, her eyes were soft as she gazed at him. "Draco.. I love you, but don't you think it's a bit soon?" She asked him gently. "I mean, we've only been together for four months." She said.

"Ginny…" He paused, collecting his thoughts. "It feels like we have been together longer than that. It feels like we have been together since the Manor. I wish we would have gotten together sooner, I have been in love with you for so much longer than just four months now." He said. "We have already lived together, I just don't think we should waste any time. I'm in this for the long haul Ginny." He said, as he spoke, he had walked so that he was standing in front of her. She looked up into his eyes, and he looked down into hers.

"Really?" She whispered, and he nodded. He had laid his heart out, and he was more terrified than ever, now he just waited. "Okay." She said, gently pulling the key from his hand. He grinned and placed his now free hands onto either side of her face. He bent down and kissed her. He felt her smile against his lips before he broke the kiss.

"Well we should probably head over to the Burrow." He said, and she nodded, pulling out her wand to disaparate.

"You won't need that love." He said, grabbing her hand as she gave him a puzzled look. He opened the door out of the kitchen and she burst out laughing once she saw the Burrow so close.

"You moved in next door to my parents?" She asked, still laughing. He smiled.

"That okay?" He asked, nervous again.

"Oh it's perfect, you know how close the Weasleys are." She said as they made their way to the Burrow. They entered the door to the kitchen and every one in the room looked at them expectantly.

"Looks like I'll be moving out." She sighed dramatically, and her statement was met with cheers from around the room. Ron walked over with Hermione and clapped Draco on the back.

"Glad that house won't be so empty." He said jokingly as Hermione congratulated Ginny with a hug.

"So how was the ceremony?" Hermione asked, and Ginny eyes her warily.

"You know I'm not allowed to talk about it." She said simply, and Hermione let out a heavy sigh.

"I knew I should have gone back." She said longingly. Ron gave her a shocked look.

"Oi, what about me?" He said, and she gave him a kiss.

"You could have come back too, I just wish I could have graduated." She said, and Ron rolled his eyes.

"You still got an honorary diploma." He said.

"It's not the same though, is it?" Hermione said, and Ron let out a defeated sigh.

"No, I suppose not." Ron said, giving Draco a look that told him that he didn't see the difference. Hermione caught the look and swatted his arm with a laugh.

"You knock it off mister, or you will be sleeping alone tonight." She joked, and Ron pulled her by the waist into a kiss.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, witch." He said, and she giggled. Ginny grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him away from the two lovebirds.

"Oh wait, I actually had to talk with them, why don't you go catch up with Charlie and Bill before they have to leave though." He encouraged her, and she smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek before going to her other siblings.

"Can I talk to you?" He said in a low voice, getting the attention of both Ron and Hermione.

"Of course, what is it mate?" Ron said, and Draco took a deep breath.

"Would it be insane if I asked her tonight?" He said, and the couple stared at him before catching his meaning.

"Tonight?" Ron asked, and Draco nodded.

"I just… It seems so perfect… I can't stop thinking about it." Draco said. "Is that insane?" He asked again.

"Yes." Ron said, a little loudly. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and checked to make sure nobody was paying any attention to them before she spoke.

"Yes, but," She said, seeing that Draco was about to speak. "I think it's perfect. Neither of you are the conventional sort, and if you are serious, I think you should go for it." Draco and Ron both stared at her.

"You really think so?" Draco asked, and Hermione nodded.

"Well I think you're off your rocker." Ron said, Hermione turned at looked at him.

"Ron… We got married less than a year after we got together. This isn't much different." Hermione said, and Ron thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Okay.. Well… Go for it." Ron gestured toward his sister.

"Not now, do it after dinner." Hermione said quickly, and Draco nodded in agreement.

Dinner was ready before anyone knew it, and by that time, Hermione and Ron had told the rest of the family besides Ginny. Everyone was giving Draco knowing glances throughout the meal. He tried to keep his eyes on his plate for as long as he could after he had finished. Molly pulled out a pie for desert and he tucked into it immediately.

But before too long, that was gone as well. He kept rubbing his hands along the sides of his jeans, trying to figure out what to say. Eventually, he held up his glass and tapped the side of it with his knife.

"So, I wanted to wish Ginny congratulations. She has worked very hard through this year, she worked her arse off with school. Also, I wanted to announce for the second time today that she will be moving in with me as well, which is wonderful." Everyone raised their glasses and drank to the toast. "I have one more thing." He said, shoving his hand into his pocket the second time that day. He turned to Ginny and looked into her eyes.

"Ginny, I have loved you for a very long time. Far longer than we have been together. I'm so happy to be starting this new chapter through life with you. I'm so happy that you agreed to be with me. Like I said earlier, I'm in this for the long haul." He took a deep breath before asking her the question he had been thinking about all day. "Ginny, I know it's soon, and we can wait as long as you want, but will you marry me?" He said, and everyone inhaled breath at what seemed like the exact same time.

"Of course I will Draco. Of course." She said, throwing her arms around his neck. He let out a sigh of relief and hugged her tightly to him.

"I love you so much Ginny." He whispered into her ear as people around them let out cheers and whoops.

"I love you too Draco." She said, kissing him.

All was right with the world, nothing could dim this moment. Draco was in blissful oblivion in the arms of the woman he loved. Ginny Weasley. Although, he thought with a smirk, soon she would be Ginny Malfoy.

A/N: I can hear it now, its way too fast. I agree 100%, BUT. This is about how my husband and I did things. We knew immediately that we were going to get married. We only waited because I couldn't legally get married yet. My husband proposed at graduation for us, and I was thinking of doing that for them, but obviously that's not what happened. I know a lot of people are going to hate this chapter, but to me, this chapter made me think of my relationship so its special to me. I like to think of Ginny as impulsive and a dare taker, so I think that this is perfect. The last chapter will, of course, be the wedding. I'm sorry that this is ending, I have 2 other stories I can't wait to write though. Much Loves- Bookworm


	36. Chapter 35

A/N: This is it. Thank you so much to everyone who has stayed with this story, to everyone who supported me though this. Namely my mum and sister, who helped me a lot with this. I have started another story, a Charmione one, if anyone is interested. thank you again, for everything. It breaks my heart to end this, but its a good place to. I love you all. -Bookworm

Ginny POV:

They had decided to only wait until she finished Auror Training. They had argued about it for weeks before settling on August 10th as their wedding day.

And after a long three months of Auror training, and becoming an Auror, they were finally getting married. Draco had been working overtime, he had gotten so many more clients during the summer. Ever since the Malfoy Manor had become a Wizard Museum, restoring the Malfoy name, many people had employed her fiancé.

The Weasley's had gone to see the Museum the first day, it had been transformed since the last time Ginny had been there. It didn't even look like Malfoy Manor anymore. Hermione had been with them though, and as soon as she saw the ballroom, she asked if they could leave. Draco had stayed clear of her until he was sure she was okay, not wanting her to relive what had happened. When Ginny had breeched the subject, he had explained that he blamed himself for what had happened.

He had later apologized to Hermione, who forgave him instantly, saying that she had forgiven him a long time ago. Since then, they hadn't revisited the Manor.

Draco and Ginny had settled into living together nicely, their routines fit together, and they had been able to see each other every day. Ginny had yet to be sent on a mission, and she had made it very clear that she would refuse to do any while she was on her honeymoon, which had made the head of the department laugh before agreeing.

Ginny, Hermione, Luna and Molly Weasley were now in Ginny's old bedroom in The Burrow, getting ready for the upcoming ceremony.

"Ginny dear, can we please see your dress now?" Her mum asked, Ginny had not let anyone see it yet, she had kept that her best kept secret. Ginny grinned, they had finished her hair and makeup, and every other girl had her dress on. Ginny let out a relenting sigh.

"I suppose it is time for that, but just Hermione to help me, alright? Everyone else, clear out." She said, her mum began to protest, but a look from Ginny made her nod and usher Luna and herself out of the room. Hermione gave her a curious look, which made Ginny grin.

"It's a surprise for mum." She said softly, and Hermione nodded. Ginny had found her mum's old wedding robes in the attic, in perfect condition still. They were pure white, with silver fastens on the front, the sleeves went past her hands, and would flow behind her as she walked. There was a short train, which was enchanted to repel dirt and mud, which Ginny had redone just to make sure she wouldn't ruin them on her own day. Hermione helped her get them on, then took a step back to look at her.

"Ginny… Where did you find these?" Hermione asked softly in awe.

"In the attic." She said with a mischievous grin, and Hermione caught on immediately and let out a gasp.

"Ginny Weasley, you're going to make your mum cry." She said sternly before smiling. "Draco might just cry too." She said, and the pair giggled slightly.

"Okay, let them in." Ginny said, gesturing to the door and referring to the women behind it. Hermione went over and opened it slowly. The two women stepped inside, and as soon as her mum saw her, she stopped in her tracks, her hands going to cover her mouth.

"Oh my…." She said softly, and Ginny bit her lip a little, hoping that it was okay that she was wearing them.

"Mum?" She asked, taking a step forward.

"You look so… Beautiful." Molly sobbed, and Hermione and Ginny both rushed forward to hug her.

"Oh mum please don't cry, we have to get out there soon." Ginny said, smiling even though her mum was crying. She was happy that her mum was happy. "Mum, I love you, but you have to pull yourself together." She said, and her mum laughed.

"I know, I know." She said, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath. Hermione cast a charm that fixed the makeup that had run, and made the red spots on her eyes disappear.

At that moment, they heard Ron through the door.

"Are you lot ready?" He asked. "Blaise, Draco and I have been ready for like an hour." He groaned.

"Yes Ronald, we are. You get downstairs, and tell Draco to get to the alter." Ginny said loudly. They heard a couple footsteps go downstairs, and Ginny looked at her mum.

"Okay dear, I should go sit down, your father will meet you downstairs." She said, and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay mum.. I love you." She said softly, she suddenly felt very nervous. She and the other two women made their way downstairs and met her dad, Ron and Blaise to walk down the aisle. Ron took Hermione on his arm, and Blaise took Luna on his. Her father looked at her for a moment.

"You look beautiful sweetheart." He said, giving her a hug before offering her the crook of his arm. She slipped her arm into his and they waited to start walking until they heard the tones of the wedding march.

They made the walk down the aisle slowly, she kept her hand gripped on his elbow, and everyone stood and turned to her. She smiled at the sight of Draco at the end of the aisle.

Draco POV:

He could hardly keep the tears in his eyes as Ginny walked down the aisle toward him. She was wearing gorgeous traditional wedding robes, and she looked amazing in them. He clasped his hands in front of himself. He was so nervous, his hands were shaking.

She finally reached him at the alter, and Arthur passed his daughters hands into Draco's, they then turned to face the wizard that would be administering the ceremony. Draco glanced over at Ginny, she was grinning. He smiled then turned back toward the wizard.

"These two people have decided to join themselves together today, forming a union that can never be broken, but by death." His speech went on for a couple minutes, Draco was hardly paying attention, his eyes had strayed from the wizard and landed onto the woman beside him.

"Now, can you claps hands?" He asked, and they did as they were told, the wizard then lifted his wand, and a stream of gold shot out and wrapped itself around their hands and wrists. He could feel the magic binding them together, it felt warm, and unbreakable.

He squeezed Ginny's hand lightly, and she smiled up at him.

"Now, have you prepared your items?" He asked, and they both turned to the people right behind them, they had opted to use rings. Many people decided to use bracelets, necklaces, or even watches to signify their unions. They had decided to use rings, since Ginny was an auror she didn't want anything that would get caught on anything during a mission.

He turned back to Ginny, and placed a simple band on her finger that had a small diamond in it. She then placed a wide dark band onto his hand that had small emeralds embedded in it. They then kissed, and their union was official.

Turning to the crowd, they walked down the aisle as people clapped, they made their way into the reception area and took their seats for dinner.

Molly had gone all out for the meal, making all their favorite foods. Ham, dinner rolls, pies, everything that Draco had ever complimented her on. They enjoyed dinner before standing to take the first dance.

Hours later, people began to say goodbye, and Draco and Ginny made sure to thank everyone for coming to the wedding. Once everyone was gone, the Weasleys and Malfoys made their way into the Burrow to spend some time together before they left for their honeymoon.

Ginny and Draco changed out of their fancy clothes, into some pajamas, and met everyone downstairs. Molly had made some tea, and passed it around to everyone. Draco looked around the room, watching his new family. He smiled at the thought, his new family. He loved this family more than he had ever loved his, and he had just joined it. He pulled Ginny close to him, he loved the woman that had perched herself on his lap. He had a new family, the perfect family, with Ginny Weasley.


End file.
